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Research Paper
Pheophorbide a, An Active Compound Isolated from Scutellaria barbata, Possesses Photodynamic Activities by Inducing Apoptosis in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Patrick Ming-Kuen Tang, Judy Yuet-Wa Chan, Shannon Wing-Ngor Au, Siu-Kai Kong, Stephen Kwok-Wing Tsui, Mary Mui-Yee Waye, Thomas Chung-Wai Mak, Wing-Ping Fong and Kwok-Pui Fung
volume 5 | issue 9
september 2006Pages: 1111 - 1116
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Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective treatment for cancer by inducing apoptosis or necrosis in the target cells. Pheophorbide a (Pa), a chlorophyll derivative, is a photosensitzier which can induce significant anti-proliferative effects in a number of human cancer cell lines. This study investigated the action mechanism of Pa-mediated photodynamic therapy (Pa-PDT) on the human hepatocellular carcinoma, Hep3B cells. Pa-PDT significantly inhibited the growth of Hep3B cells with an IC50 value of 1.5?M. Intracellular ROS level was increased in Pa-PDT treated cells and the cytotoxic effect could be reversed when ascorbic acid was applied. Pa was found to be localized in the mitochondria and then induced the target cells to undergo apoptosis, which was confirmed by propidium iodide staining and DNA fragmentation assay. Pa-PDT treatment also led to the depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential (??m) and a release of cytochrome c from mitochondria to the cytosol. The caspase cascade was activated as shown by a significant decrease of procaspase-3 and –9 in Pa-PDT treated cells in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, in nude mice model, Pa-PDT treatment could reduce the tumor size by 57% after 14 days treatment.
We now provide open access to journal articles published online for one year or more. This article may be downloaded at the following link:
Download PDFIf the document does not open, please right-click on the link (control-click on a Macintosh) and select the option to save the file to disk.