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Peng Z, Lu J, Liu K, Xie L, Wang Y, Cai C, Yang D, Xi J, Yan C, Li X, Shi M. Hypericin as a promising natural bioactive naphthodianthrone: A review of its pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, toxicity, and safety. Phytother Res 2023; 37:5639-5656. [PMID: 37690821 DOI: 10.1002/ptr.8011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Hypericin can be derived from St. John's wort, which is widely spread around the world. As a natural product, it has been put into clinical practice such as wound healing and depression for a long time. In this article, we review the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and safety of hypericin, aiming to introduce the research advances and provide a full evaluation of it. Turns out hypericin, as a natural photosensitizer, exhibits an excellent capacity for anticancer, neuroprotection, and elimination of microorganisms, especially when activated by light, potent anticancer and antimicrobial effects are obtained after photodynamic therapy. The mechanisms of its therapeutic effects involve the induction of cell death, inhibition of cell cycle progression, inhibition of the reuptake of amines, and inhibition of virus replication. The pharmacokinetics properties indicate that hypericin has poor water solubility and bioavailability. The distribution and excretion are fast, and it is metabolized in bile. The toxicity of hypericin is rarely reported and the conventional use of it rarely causes adverse effects except for photosensitization. Therefore, we may conclude that hypericin can be used safely and effectively against a variety of diseases. We hope to provide researchers with detailed guidance and enlighten the development of it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaolei Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Jing Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Kai Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Long Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Yulin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Chunyan Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Dejun Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Jingjing Xi
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Chunmei Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiaofang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Mingyi Shi
- School of Intelligent Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
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Wu JJ, Zhang J, Xia CY, Ding K, Li XX, Pan XG, Xu JK, He J, Zhang WK. Hypericin: A natural anthraquinone as promising therapeutic agent. PHYTOMEDICINE : INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYTOTHERAPY AND PHYTOPHARMACOLOGY 2023; 111:154654. [PMID: 36689857 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2023.154654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Revised: 12/31/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hypericin is a prominent secondary metabolite mainly existing in genus Hypericum. It has become a research focus for a quiet long time owing to its extensively pharmacological activities especially the anti-cancer, anti-bacterial, anti-viral and neuroprotective effects. This review concentrated on summarizing and analyzing the existing studies of hypericin in a comprehensive perspective. METHODS The literature with desired information about hypericin published after 2010 was gained from electronic databases including PubMed, SciFinder, Science Direct, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases and Wan Fang DATA. RESULTS According to extensive preclinical and clinical studies conducted on the hypericin, an organized and comprehensive summary of the natural and artificial sources, strategies for improving the bioactivities, pharmacological activities, drug combination of hypericin was presented to explore the future therapeutic potential of this active compound. CONCLUSIONS Overall, this review offered a theoretical guidance for the follow-up research of hypericin. However, the pharmacological mechanisms, pharmacokinetics and structure activity relationship of hypericin should be further studied in future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing-Jing Wu
- China-Japan Friendship Hospital (Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100029, China; Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences & Department of Pharmacy, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Jia Zhang
- School of Life Sciences & School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Cong-Yuan Xia
- Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences & Department of Pharmacy, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Kang Ding
- School of Life Sciences & School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Xin-Xin Li
- School of Life Sciences & School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Xue-Ge Pan
- School of Life Sciences & School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Jie-Kun Xu
- School of Life Sciences & School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China.
| | - Jun He
- Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences & Department of Pharmacy, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, 100029, China.
| | - Wei-Ku Zhang
- China-Japan Friendship Hospital (Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100029, China; Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences & Department of Pharmacy, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, 100029, China.
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Yang S, Ma J, Li T, Wang P, Wang X, Zhang J, Ni Y, Shao H. Radioiodinated hypericin as a tracer for detection of acute myocardial infarction: SPECT-CT imaging in a swine model. J Nucl Cardiol 2022; 29:3432-3439. [PMID: 35296972 DOI: 10.1007/s12350-022-02933-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Hypericin (Hyp) is a natural compound with a newly discovered necrosis-avidity, which can be exploited as a necrosis-avid tracer once labeled with radioactive iodine as has been tested in rodent models. This study was to evaluate the effect of radioiodinated Hyp (131I-Hyp) for imaging detection of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in conditions closer to clinical scenarios. METHODS We established swine AMI models (n = 6) which were intravenously given 131I-Hyp and 99mTc-sestamibi and underwent SPECT-CT imaging with high- and low-energy collimators. The acquired SPECT images were fused with cardiac CT images and correlated with postmortem autoradiography and macro- and microscopic pathology. Tissue γ counting was performed to determine biodistribution of 131I-Hyp. RESULTS 131I-Hyp based SPECT indicated clearly hot regions on ventricular walls which were all histologically proved as AMI. Complementally, the hot AMI regions on 131I-Hyp SPECT (infarct/myoc ratio of 15.3 ± 7.7) were inversely cold regions on 99mTc-sestamibi SPECT (infarct/myoc ratio of 0.029 ± 0.021). Autoradiography of heart slices showed 9.8 times higher 131I-Hyp uptake in infarcted over normal myocardium. With γ counting, the mean 131I-Hyp uptake in infarcts was 10.69 ID%/g, 12.05 times of that in viable myocardium. CONCLUSION 131I-Hyp shows a potential for clinical detection of AMI once I-131 is substituted by its isotope like I-124 or I-123 for PET or SPECT, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuping Yang
- Department of Pain Medicine, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Junting Ma
- Department of Interventional Radiology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Tian Li
- Department of Interventional Radiology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Peng Wang
- Department of Interventional Radiology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Xudan Wang
- Department of Interventional Radiology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Jian Zhang
- Laboratory of Translational Medicine, Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Yicheng Ni
- Department of Imaging & Pathology, Theragnostic Laboratory, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Haibo Shao
- Department of Interventional Radiology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
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Meng D, Yang S, Yang Y, Zhang L, Cui L. Synergistic chemotherapy and phototherapy based on red blood cell biomimetic nanomaterials. J Control Release 2022; 352:146-162. [PMID: 36252749 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2022.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 10/08/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Novel drug delivery systems (DDSs) have become the mainstay of research in targeted cancer therapy. By combining different therapeutic strategies, potential DDSs and synergistic treatment approaches are needed to effectively deal with evolving drug resistance and the adverse effects of cancer. Nowadays, developing and optimizing human cell-based DDSs has become a new research strategy. Among them, red blood cells can be used as DDSs as they significantly enhance the pharmacokinetics of the transported drug cargo. Phototherapy, as a novel adjuvant in cancer treatment, can be divided into photodynamic therapy and photothermal therapy. Phototherapy using erythropoietic nanocarriers to mimic the unique properties of erythrocytes and overcome the limitations of existing DDSs shows excellent prospects in clinical settings. This review provides an overview of the development of photosensitizers and research on bio-nano-delivery systems based on erythrocytes and erythrocyte membranes that are used in achieving synergistic outcomes during phototherapy/chemotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Di Meng
- College of Bioengineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou, PR China
| | - Shuoye Yang
- College of Bioengineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou, PR China; Key Laboratory of Functional Molecules for Biomedical Research, Zhengzhou, PR China.
| | - Yanan Yang
- College of Bioengineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou, PR China
| | - Lu Zhang
- College of Bioengineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou, PR China; Key Laboratory of Functional Molecules for Biomedical Research, Zhengzhou, PR China
| | - Lan Cui
- College of Bioengineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou, PR China; Key Laboratory of Functional Molecules for Biomedical Research, Zhengzhou, PR China
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Pevna V, Horvath D, Wagnieres G, Huntosova V. Photobiomodulation and photodynamic therapy-induced switching of autophagy and apoptosis in human dermal fibroblasts. JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY. B, BIOLOGY 2022; 234:112539. [PMID: 35973285 DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2022.112539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Nowadays, photobiomodulation (PBM) in combination with chemotherapy or other therapeutic approaches is an attractive adjuvant modality for cancer treatment. Targeted destruction of cancer cells is one of the main advantages of photodynamic therapy (PDT). We have shown in previous studies that the combination of PBM at 808 nm and hypericin-mediated PDT increases PDT efficacy in human glioblastoma cells U87 MG. The study presented here shows significant differences between U87 MG and non-cancerous human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) cells treated by PBM and PDT. This study focuses on mitochondria because PBM mainly affects these organelles. We demonstrated that an interplay between mitochondrial and autophagic proteins plays a crucial role in the response of HDF cells to PBM and PDT. Fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, and Western blot analysis were used to examine the autophagic profile of HDF cells after these treatments. An increase in ubiquitin, SQSTM1, LC3BII, and cytochrome c was accompanied by a decrease in M6PR, ATG16L1, and Opa1 in HDF cells exposed to PBM and PDT. Overall, we observed that the switching of autophagy and apoptosis is dose-dependent and also occurs independently of PBM in HDF cells after hypericin-mediated PDT. However, PBM might preferentially induce autophagy in noncancer cells, which might escape apoptosis under certain conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viktoria Pevna
- Department of Biophysics, Institute of Physics, Faculty of Science, P.J. Safarik University in Kosice, Jesenna 5, 041 54 Kosice, Slovakia.
| | - Denis Horvath
- Center for Interdisciplinary Biosciences, Technology and Innovation Park, P.J. Safarik University in Kosice, Jesenna 5, 041 54 Kosice, Slovakia.
| | - Georges Wagnieres
- Laboratory for Functional and Metabolic Imaging, Institute of Physics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), Station 3, Building PH, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Veronika Huntosova
- Center for Interdisciplinary Biosciences, Technology and Innovation Park, P.J. Safarik University in Kosice, Jesenna 5, 041 54 Kosice, Slovakia.
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Winifred Nompumelelo Simelane N, Abrahamse H. Nanoparticle-Mediated Delivery Systems in Photodynamic Therapy of Colorectal Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:12405. [PMID: 34830287 PMCID: PMC8622021 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222212405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) involving a malignant tumour remains one of the greatest contributing causes of fatal mortality and has become the third globally ranked malignancy in terms of cancer-associated deaths. Conventional CRC treatment approaches such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are the most utilized approaches to treat this disease. However, they are limited by low selectivity and systemic toxicity, so they cannot completely eradicate this disease. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an emerging therapeutic modality that exerts selective cytotoxicity to cancerous cells through the activation of photosensitizers (PSs) under light irradiation to produce cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS), which then cause cancer cell death. Cumulative research findings have highlighted the significant role of traditional PDT in CRC treatment; however, the therapeutic efficacy of the classical PDT strategy is restricted due to skin photosensitivity, poor cancerous tissue specificity, and limited penetration of light. The application of nanoparticles in PDT can mitigate some of these shortcomings and enhance the targeting ability of PS in order to effectively use PDT against CRC as well as to reduce systemic side effects. Although 2D culture models are widely used in cancer research, they have some limitations. Therefore, 3D models in CRC PDT, particularly multicellular tumour spheroids (MCTS), have attracted researchers. This review summarizes several photosensitizers that are currently used in CRC PDT and gives an overview of recent advances in nanoparticle application for enhanced CRC PDT. In addition, the progress of 3D-model applications in CRC PDT is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Heidi Abrahamse
- Laser Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 17011, Doornfontein 2028, South Africa;
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Nompumelelo Simelane NW, Kruger CA, Abrahamse H. Photodynamic diagnosis and photodynamic therapy of colorectal cancer in vitro and in vivo. RSC Adv 2020; 10:41560-41576. [PMID: 35516575 PMCID: PMC9058000 DOI: 10.1039/d0ra08617g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 11/08/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
This review highlights the various photo diagnostic and treatment methods utilized for CRC, over the last seven years.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cherie Ann Kruger
- Laser Research Centre
- Faculty of Health Sciences
- University of Johannesburg
- Johannesburg 2028
- South Africa
| | - Heidi Abrahamse
- Laser Research Centre
- Faculty of Health Sciences
- University of Johannesburg
- Johannesburg 2028
- South Africa
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