title: Cellular mechanisms and prospective applications of hypericin in photodynamic therapy.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, University of Salzburg, Austria.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kiesslich
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Krammer
authors.forename: Kristjan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Plaetzer
mesh_terms: D000873:Anthracenes; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000188:drug therapy; D010569:Perylene / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D010778:Photochemotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D011838:Radiation-Sensitizing Agents / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D000873:Anthracenes; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D011838:Radiation-Sensitizing Agents; D010569:Perylene; C004965:hypericin