Cellular mechanisms and prospective applications of hypericin in photodynamic therapy

Curr Med Chem. 2006;13(18):2189-204. doi: 10.2174/092986706777935267.

Abstract

During the last decades, Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) has been established as a powerful alternative approved by health agencies of several countries for treatment of various malignant and some non-malignant diseases. PDT makes use of the light-induced destruction of target cells by formation of cytotoxic products in the presence of a photosensitizing agent and oxygen. The light-dependent tumor destructive properties of Hypericin have drawn attention to its promising application as a photosensitizer in the frame of PDT. Hypericin is a naturally occurring secondary metabolite in plants of the Hypericum genus, with Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort) as it is a commonly known representative. This review focuses on the cellular mechanisms of Hypericin-based phototoxicity and provides an outlook for future application of Hypericin as a fluorescing and photosensitizing agent for diagnosis and treatment of cancerous diseases, respectively.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Anthracenes
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Mitochondria / drug effects
  • Neoplasms / pathology
  • Neoplasms / therapy
  • Neovascularization, Pathologic / drug therapy
  • Perylene / analogs & derivatives*
  • Perylene / metabolism
  • Perylene / pharmacology
  • Photochemotherapy / methods*
  • Radiation-Sensitizing Agents / metabolism
  • Radiation-Sensitizing Agents / pharmacology*
  • Signal Transduction

Substances

  • Anthracenes
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Radiation-Sensitizing Agents
  • Perylene
  • hypericin