Immunomodulatory Effect of Hypericin-Mediated Photodynamic Therapy on Oral Cancer Cells

Marcin Olek; Agnieszka Machorowska-Pieniążek; Zenon P Czuba; Grzegorz Cieślar; Aleksandra Kawczyk-Krupka

doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics16010042

Immunomodulatory Effect of Hypericin-Mediated Photodynamic Therapy on Oral Cancer Cells

Pharmaceutics. 2023 Dec 27;16(1):42. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16010042.

Authors

Marcin Olek^{1

2}, Agnieszka Machorowska-Pieniążek², Zenon P Czuba³, Grzegorz Cieślar⁴, Aleksandra Kawczyk-Krupka⁴

Affiliations

¹ Doctoral School of Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland.
² Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland.
³ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland.
⁴ Department of Internal Diseases, Angiology and Physical Medicine, Center for Laser Diagnostics and Therapy, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland.

Abstract

In 2020, there were 377,713 new oral and lip cancer diagnoses and 177,757 deaths. Oral cancer is a malignancy of the head and neck region, and 90% of cases are squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs). One of the alternative methods of treating pre-cancerous lesions and oral cancer is photodynamic therapy (PDT). In addition to the cytotoxic effect, an important mechanism of PDT action is the immunomodulatory effect. This study used the OSCC (SCC-25) cell line and the healthy gingival fibroblast (HGF-1) line. A compound of natural origin-hypericin (HY)-was used as the photosensitizer (PS). The HY concentrations of 0-1 µM were used. After two hours of incubation with PS, the cells were irradiated with light doses of 0-20 J/cm². The MTT test determined sublethal doses of PDT. Cell supernatants subjected to sublethal PDT were assessed for interleukin 6 (IL-6), soluble IL-6 receptor alpha (sIL-6Ralfa), sIL-6Rbeta, IL-8, IL-10, IL-11 IL-20, IL-32, and Pentraxin-3 using the Bio-Plex Pro^TM Assay. The phototoxic effect was observed starting with a light dose of 5 J/cm² and amplified with increasing HY concentration and a light dose. HY-PDT affected the SCC-25 cell secretion of sIL-6Rbeta, IL-20, and Pentraxin-3. HY alone increased IL-8 secretion. In the case of HGF-1, the effect of HY-PDT on the secretion of IL-8 and IL-32 was found.

Keywords: hypericin; immunomodulatory effect; oral cancer; photodynamic therapy.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, grant number PCN-2-089/N/1/K.