5-Aminolevulinic Acid-mediated Photodynamic Therapy on Primary Bone Tumor and Bone Metastases Cell Lines.

Bone metastases are associated with poor prognosis and low quality of life for the affected patients. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) emerges as a noninvasive therapy that can target local metastatic bone lesions. This paper presents an in vitro method to study the PDT effect in adherent cell lines. To this end, we demonstrate a step-by-step approach to subject both primary (giant cell bone tumor) and human bone metastatic cancer cell lines (derived from a primary invasive ductal breast carcinoma and renal carcinoma) to 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA)-mediated PDT. After 24 h post 5-ALA-PDT irradiation (blue light-wavelength 436 nm), the therapeutic effect was assessed in terms of cell migration potential, viability, apoptotic features, and cellular growth arrest (senescence). Post 5-ALA-PDT irradiation, musculoskeletal-derived cell lines respond differently to the same doses and exposure of PDT. Depending on the extent of cellular damage triggered by PDT exposure, two different cell fates-apoptosis and senescence were noted. Variable sensitivity to PDT therapy among different bone cancer cell lines provides useful information for selecting more appropriate PDT settings in clinical settings. This protocol is designed to exemplify the use of PDT in the context of musculoskeletal neoplastic cell lines. It may be adjusted to investigate the therapeutic effect of PDT on various cancer cell lines and various photosensitizers and light sources.

Assessment of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid-Mediated Photodynamic Therapy on Bone Metastases: An in Vitro Study.

Bone is a frequent site of metastases, being typically associated with a short-term prognosis in affected patients. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) emerges as a promising alternative treatment for controlling malignant disease that can directly target interstitial metastatic lesions. The aim of this study was to assess the effect induced by PDT treatment on both primary (giant cell bone tumor) and human bone metastatic cancer cell lines (derived from a primary invasive ductal breast carcinoma and renal carcinoma). After 24 h post light delivery (blue light-wavelength 436 nm) with 5-aminolevulinic acid, the effect on cellular migration, viability, apoptosis, and senescence were assessed. Our results showed that bone metastasis derived from breast cancer reacted with an inhibition of cell migration coupled with reduced viability and signs of apoptosis such as nuclei fragmentation following PDT exposure. A limited effect in terms of cellular viability inhibition was observed for the cells of giant cell bone tumors. In contrast, bone metastasis derived from renal carcinoma followed a different fate-cells were characterized by senescent features, without a notable effect on cell migration or viability. Collectively, our study illustrates that PDT could act as a successful therapy concept for local tumor control in some entities of bone metastases.