Suresh K. Pandey

Substrate affinity of photosensitizers derived from chlorophyll-a: the ABCG2 transporter affects the phototoxic response of side population stem cell-like cancer cells to photodynamic therapy.

Photosensitizers (PS) synthesized with the aim of optimizing photodynamic therapy (PDT) of tumors do not always fulfill their potential when tested in vitro and in vivo in different tumor models. The ATP-dependent transporter ABCG2, a multidrug resistant pump expressed at variable levels in cancerous cells, can bind and efflux a wide range of structurally different classes of compounds including several PS used preclinically and clinically such as porphyrins and chlorins. ABCG2 may lower intracellular levels of substrate PS below the threshold for cell death in tumors treated by PDT, leaving resistant cells to repopulate the tumor. To determine some of the structural factors that affect substrate affinity of PS for ABCG2, we used an ABCG2-expressing cell line (HEK 293 482R) and its nonexpressing counterpart, and tyrosine kinase ABCG2 inhibitors in a simple flow cytometric assay to identify PS effluxed by the ABCG2 pump. We tested a series of conjugates of substrate PS with different groups attached at different positions on the tetrapyrrole macrocycle to examine whether a change in affinity for the pump occurred and whether such changes depended on the position or the structure/type of the attached group. PS without substitutions including pyropheophorbides and purpurinimides were generally substrates for ABCG2, but carbohydrate groups conjugated at positions 8, 12, 13, and 17 but not at position 3 abrogated ABCG2 affinity regardless of structure or linking moiety. At position 3, affinity was retained with the addition of iodobenzene, alkyl chains and monosaccharides, but not with disaccharides. This suggests that structural characteristics at position 3 may offer important contributions to requirements for binding to ABCG2. We examined several tumor cell lines for ABCG2 activity, and found that although some cell lines had negligible ABCG2 activity in bulk, they contained a small ABCG2-expressing side population (SP) thought to contain cells which are responsible for initiating tumor regrowth. We examined the relevance of the SP to PDT resistance with ABCG2 substrates in vitro and in vivo in the murine mammary tumor 4T1. We show for the first time in vivo that the substrate PS HPPH (2-[1-hexyloxyethyl]-2-devinyl pyropheophorbide-a) but not the nonsubstrate PS HPPH-Gal (a galactose conjugate of HPPH) selectively preserved the SP which was primarily responsible for regrowth in vitro. The SP could be targeted by addition of imatinib mesylate, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor which inhibits the ATPase activity of ABCG2, and prevents efflux of substrates. A PDT resistant SP may be responsible for recurrences observed both preclinically and clinically. To prevent ABCG2 mediated resistance, choosing nonsubstrate PS or administering an ABCG2 inhibitor alongside a substrate PS might be advantageous when treating ABCG2-expressing tumors with PDT.

A First Comparative Study of Purpurinimide-based Fluorinated vs. Nonfluorinated Photosensitizers for Photodynamic Therapy¶

A first report on the synthesis and comparative in vitro–in vivo photosensitizing efficacy of various fluorinated and the corresponding nonfluorinated, purpurinimide‐based photosensitizers is discussed. In preliminary in vivo screening, compared with the nonfluorinated analogs, purpurinimides bearing trifluoromethyl substituents showed enhanced photosensitizing efficacy. Among compounds (isomers) with similar lipophilicity, the position of the substituents was found to play a decisive role in biological efficacy.

Utility of tumor-avid photosensitizers in developing bifunctional agents for tumor imaging and/or phototherapy

HPPH (a chlorophyll-a analog) was linked with a cyanine dye and the resulting conjugate was found to be an efficient tumor imaging (fluorescence imaging) and photosensitizing agent (PDT). Our preliminary results suggest that tumor-avid porphyrin-based compounds can be used as vehicles for delivering the desired fluorophores to tumor for fluorescence imaging. In an early diagnosis of microscopic lesions in pre-clinical studies (C3H mice implanted with RIF tumors) the HPPH-cyanine dye conjugate showed tumor-imaging capability (λex: 780 nm, λem: 860 nm) at the non- therapeutic doses that are 100 fold lower than those used therapeutically. Compared to the cyanine dye, the corresponding HPPH-conjugate showed enhanced long-term tumor imaging ability.

In vivo magnetic resonance measures of dark cytotoxicity of photosensitizers in a Murine tumor model

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a novel cancer treatment modality where the therapeutic action is controlled by light and the potency of the photosensitizer used. Development of new potent photosensitizers (PS) for clinical applications requires that the PDT effects are maximized while minimizing dark cytotoxicity. The dark toxicity of photosensitizers is generally confirmed using cell lines. Photososensitizers that appear promising from in vitro assays need further investigations under in vivo conditions. As in vivo MR methods have the potential to provide information on the tumor status, they can be very effective tools to study dark toxicity of tumors. The tumor produced on the mouse foot dorsum was tested on two newly synthesized photosensitizers along with Photofrin as a control. The MR studies consisted of serial 31P spectral measurements both before and after PS injection. The results show significant changes in the tumor metabolism with increased inorganic phosphate while using new photosensitizers. However these changes slowly approached control levels several hours later. The studies performed while using Photofrin did not show any significant changes indicating minimal or no dark cytotoxicity. Similar studies performed on normal tissue such as the muscle indicated that the energy metabolism was minimally compromised. Our studies demonstrate that the effects of dark cytotoxicity can be observed by 31P MR. The growth profiles of tumors treated with PS alone indicate that the metabolic changes are temporary and do not interfere with the tumor growth. The studies suggest that MR is a new method of monitoring the effect of PS administered toxicity in an in vivo model.