Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026
An In Vitro Approach to Photodynamic Therapy
Published on: August 17, 2018
Combined chemotherapy and ALA-based photodynamic therapy in leukemic murine cells
Berenice Diez1, Glenda Ernst, María Julieta Teijo
1Porphyirins and Porphyrias Research Center (CIPYP), National Research Council (CONICET), Hospital of Clinics, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Abstract:
The effects of combined administration of doxorubicin (DOX) and vincristine (VCR), with 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic treatment (ALA-PDT), were analyzed in sensitive murine leukemic cell lines (LBR-) and DOX and VCR chemoresistant LBR-D160 and LBR-V160 cell lines. Low doses of DOX and VCR increased anti-cancer effect of ALA-PDT in LBR-cells. Decrease in cell survival was higher when the combination VCR+ALA-PDT was used compared to DOX+ALA-PDT. Resistant cell lines LBR-D160 and LBR-V160 were sensitive to ALA-PDT; however, no changes occured when combining therapies. Thus, ALA-PDT can overcome drug resistance and is a good candidate for using treating multidrug resistant (MDR) cells.
