Abstract
The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway seems to be an important contributor to the antiproliferative response to photodynamic therapy (PDT), in terms of cell death, apoptosis and tumour destruction. We reviewed all preclinical investigations in the scientific literature on the role of the EGFR pathway in PDT. A systematic search of Medline-indexed references up to March 2010 using the recommended strategies for Medline information retrieval and identifying relevant studies from systematic reviews, revealed 16 full articles that were exhaustively analysed. EGFR inhibition/degradation appeared to be a major effect of PDT in all investigations. PDT was found to result in a time-dependent reduction of EGFR expression, inhibition of tyrosine phosphorylation and induction of apoptosis during the regression of tumours. Within the time period of the PDT reaction, normal and malignant cells lose their responsiveness to EGF. The ERK1/2 and EGFR-PI3K-Akt pathways seem to be involved in cellular survival after PDT. Pharmacotherapy and immunotherapy to block EGFR activity combined with PDT seem to be very effective in reducing malignant tumours in vivo. The effect of PDT is associated with inactivation of the EGFR pathway, but biochemical and cellular phenomena are important and scarcely investigated. EGFR inhibitors and PDT act synergistically, and this is highly relevant for clinical use.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Henderson BW, Dougherty TJ (1992) How does photodynamic therapy work? Photochem Photobiol 55:145–157
Foster TH, Murant RS, Bryant RG, Knox RS, Gibson SL, Hilf R (1991) Oxygen consumption and diffusion effects in photodynamic therapy. Radiat Res 126:296–303
Fingar VH, Kik PK, Haydon PS, Cerrito PB, Tseng M, Abang E, Wieman TJ (1999) Analysis of acute vascular damage after photodynamic therapy using benzoporphyrin derivative (BPD). Br J Cancer 79:1702–1708
Zheng X, Jiang F, Katakowski M, Zhang X, Jiang H, Zhang ZG, Chopp M (2008) Sensitization of cerebral tissue in nude mice with photodynamic therapy induces ADAM17/TACE and promotes glioma invasion. Cancer Lett 265:177–187
Wong TW, Tracy E, Oseroff AR, Baumann H (2003) Photodynamic therapy mediates immediate loss of cellular responsiveness to cytokines and growth factors. Cancer Res 63:3812–3818
Carpenter G, Cohen S (1990) Epidermal growth factor. Minireview. J Biol Chem 265:7709–7712
Schneider MR, Wolf E (2009) The epidermal growth factor receptor ligands at a glance. J Cell Physiol 218:460–466
Martínez-Carpio PA, Mur C, Rosel P, Navarro MA (1999) Constitutive and regulated secretion of epidermal growth factor and transforming growth factor-β1 in MDA-MB-231 cell line in 11-day cultures. Cell Signal 11:753–757
Martínez-Carpio PA, Mur C, Rosel P, Navarro MA (1999) Secretion and dual regulation between epidermal growth factor and transforming growth factor-β1 in MDA-MB-231 cell line in 42-hour-long cultures. Cancer Lett 147:25–29
Ahmad N, Kalta K, Mukhtar H (2001) In vitro and in vivo inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase pathway by photodynamic therapy. Oncogene 20:2314–2317
Helmer D, Savoie I, Green C, Kazanjian A (2001) Evidence-based practice: extending the search to find material for systematic review. Bull Med Libr Assoc 89:346–352
Soualmia LF, Dahamna B, Thirion B, Darmoni SJ (2006) Strategies for health information retrieval. Stud Health Technol Inform 124:595–600
Fanuel-Barret D, Patrice T, Foultier MT, Vonarx-Coinsmann V, Robillard N, Lajat Y (1997) Influence of epidermal growth factor on photodynamic therapy of glioblastoma cells in vitro. Res Exp Med (Berl) 197:219–233
Dimitroff CJ, Klohs W, Sharma A et al (1999) Anti-angiogenic activity of selected receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors PD166285 and PD173074: implications for combination treatment with photodynamic therapy. Invest New Drugs 17:121–135
Tsai JC, Hsiao YY, Teng LJ, Chen CFT, Kao MC (1999) Comparative study on the ALA photodynamic effects of human glioma and meningioma cells. Lasers Surg Med 24:296–305
Tong Z, Singh G, Rainbow AJ (2002) Sustained activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway protects cells from photofrin-mediated photodynamic therapy. Cancer Res 62:5528–5535
Schieke SM, von Montfort C, Buchczyk DP et al (2004) Singlet oxygen-induced attenuation of growth factor signaling: possible role of ceramides. Free Radic Res 38:729–737
del Carmen MG, Rizvi I, Chang Y et al (2005) Synergism of epidermal growth factor receptor-targeted immunotherapy with photodynamic treatment of ovarian cancer in vivo. J Natl Cancer Inst 97:1516–1524
Bhuvaneswari R, Yuen GY, Chee SK, Olivo M (2007) Hypericin-mediated photodynamic therapy in combination with Avastin (bevacizumab) improves tumor response by downregulating angiogenic proteins. Photochem Photobiol Sci 12:1275–1283
Weyergang A, Selbo PK, Berg K (2007) Y1068 phosphorylation is the most sensitive target of disulfonated tetraphenylporphyrin-based photodynamic therapy on epidermal growth factor receptor. Biochem Pharmacol 74:226–235
Hornick JL, Mino-Kenudson M, Lauwers GY, Liu W, Goyal R, Odze RD (2008) Buried Barrett’s epithelium following photodynamic therapy shows reduced crypt proliferation and absence of DNA content abnormalities. Am J Gastroenterol 103:38–47
Weyergang A, Kaalhus O, Berg K (2008) Photodynamic targeting of EGFR does not predict the treatment outcome in combination with the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor Tyrphostin AG1478. Photochem Photobiol Sci 7:1032–1040
Tsai T, Ji HT, Chiang PC, Chou RH, Chang WS, Chen CT (2009) ALA-PDT results in phenotypic changes and decreased cellular invasion in surviving cancer cells. Lasers Surg Med 41:305–315
Koval J, Mikes J, Jendzelovsky R, Kello M, Solar P, Fodorocko P (2010) Degradation of HER2 receptor through hypericin-mediated photodynamic therapy. Photochem Photobiol 86:200–205
Bhuvaneswari R, Gan YY, Soo KC, Olivo M (2009) Targeting EGFR with photodynamic therapy in combination with Erbitux enhances in vivo bladder tumor response. Mol Cancer 8:94
Koon HK, Chan PS, Wong RN, Wu ZG, Lung ML, Chang CK, Mak NK (2009) Targeted inhibition of the EGFR pathways enhances Zn-BC-AM PDT-induced apoptosis in well-differentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. J Cell Biochem 108:1356–1363
Yip WL, Weyergang A, Berg K, Tonnesen HH, Selbo PK (2007) Targeted delivery and enhanced cytotoxicity of cetuximab-saporin by photochemical internalization in EGFR-positive cancer cells. Mol Pharm 4:241–251
Pastore S, Mascia F, Mariani V, Girolomoni G (2008) The epidermal growth factor receptor system in skin repair and inflammation. J Invest Dermatol 128:1365–1374
Cengel KA, Hahn SM, Glastein E (2005) C225 and PDT combination therapy for ovarian cancer: the play’s the thing. Editorial article. J Natl Cancer Inst 97:1488–1489
Savellano MD, Hasan T (2003) Targeting cells that overexpress the epidermal growth factor receptor with polyethylene glycolated BPD verteporfin photosensitizer immunoconjugates. Photochem Photobiol 77:431–439
Acknowledgments
This article is registered in the academic activities of the FUNDACION ANTONI DE GIMBERNAT and IMC-INVESTILÁSER, year 2008–2009. The authors declare no financial or other interest in the companies and/or equipment mentioned in this article.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Martínez-Carpio, P.A., Trelles, M.A. The role of epidermal growth factor receptor in photodynamic therapy: a review of the literature and proposal for future investigation. Lasers Med Sci 25, 767–771 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-010-0790-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-010-0790-0