ABSTRACT
Neutral red (NR) is a cationic, nontoxic vital dye employed as a histologic stain for proliferating cells; it has been used clinically for photodynamic treatment of herpes simplex virus lesions. NR is selectively taken up and concentrated by mitotic cells, an important characteristic for more effective antineoplastic agents. In the present study, UCLA-SO-P3 human squamous carcinoma cells displayed minimal toxicity when incubated with up to 50 microg/ml NR in the absence of light. However, cells incubated with greater than 0.5 microg/ml NR followed by exposure to KTP laser light at 532 nm exhibited nearly 100% tumor cell death. The degree of cell toxicity was proportional to NR dose and laser light fluence. This study demonstrates that NR is an excellent cancer cell photosensitizer in vitro, and, after adding additional in vivo preclinical testing, may prove to be a useful agent in photodynamic destruction of head and neck tumors.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/drug therapy , Laser Therapy , Neutral Red/therapeutic use , Photochemotherapy , Photosensitizing Agents/therapeutic use , Antineoplastic Agents/administration & dosage , Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacokinetics , Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/metabolism , Cell Death , Coloring Agents , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor , Fluorescence , Head and Neck Neoplasms/drug therapy , Herpes Simplex/drug therapy , Humans , Lasers/classification , Mitosis , Neutral Red/administration & dosage , Neutral Red/pharmacokinetics , Phosphates , Photosensitizing Agents/administration & dosage , Photosensitizing Agents/pharmacokinetics , Radiation Dosage , Titanium , Tumor Cells, CulturedABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the combined treatment of growth hormone (GH) and gonadotropins can improve ovulation stimulation in previously poor responders. Twelve patients who, had suboptimal responses in previous in vitro fertilization cycle were enrolled. They underwent 1 cycle with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRH-a) and gonadotropins and another cycle with GnRH-a, gonadotropins, and GH. Serum gonadotropins, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and sex steroids, including estradiol (E2), progesterone (P4), testosterone, and androstenedione were measured on Day 2 and during ovulation induction. The serum IGF-1 level was higher in the GH cycle. There were no significant differences in the levels of the serum luteinizing hormone, E2, P4, testosterone, and androstenedione between the 2 cycles, so was IGF-1, E2 and P4 in follicular fluid. Co-treatment with GH did not improve the ovarian response. However, the GH cycles had better performance in terms of the number of oocytes fertilized and the pregnancy rate.