title: Photodynamic therapy mediated by acai oil (Euterpe oleracea Martius) in nanoemulsion: A potential treatment for melanoma.
abstract: Melanoma is the most aggressive and lethal form of skin cancer, responsible for >80% of deaths. Standard treatments for late-stage melanoma usually present poor results, leading to life-threatening side effects and low overall survival. Thus, it is necessary to rethink treatment strategies and design new tools for the treatment of this disease. On that ground, we hereby report the use of acai oil in nanoemulsion (NanoA) as a novel photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy (PDT) used to treat melanoma in in vitro and in vivo experimental models. NIH/3T3 normal cells and B16F10 melanoma cell lines were treated with PDT and presented 85% cell death for melanoma cells, while maintaining high viability in normal cells. Flow cytometry indicated that cell death occurred by late apoptosis/necrosis. Tumor bearing C57BL/6 mice treated five times with PDT using acai oil in nanoemulsion showed tumor volume reduction of 82% in comparison to control/tumor group. Necrotic tissue per tumor area reached its highest value in PDT-treated mice, supporting PDT efficacy. Overall, acai oil in nanoemulsion was an effective photosensitizer, representing a promising source of new photosensitizing molecules for PDT treatment of melanoma, a tumor with an inherent tendency to be refractory for this type of therapy.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Department of Genetics and Morphology, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Brasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Monge-Fuentes
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Department of Genetics and Morphology, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Brasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luis Alexandre
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Muehlmann
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Department of Genetics and Morphology, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Brasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: João Paulo Figueiró
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Department of Genetics and Morphology, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Brasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jaqueline Rodrigues
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Department of Genetics and Morphology, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Brasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Luiza
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Fascineli
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Applied Physics, Institute of Physics, University of Brasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.affiliation: Center for Biological Sciences and Nature, Federal University of Acre, Rio Branco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Faria
authors.affiliation: Center for Biological Sciences and Nature, Federal University of Acre, Rio Branco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Igor Anatolievich
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Degterev
authors.affiliation: Center for Biological Sciences and Nature, Federal University of Acre, Rio Branco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Anselmo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Brasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fabiana Pirani
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Carneiro
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiological Sciences, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Brasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carolina Madeira
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lucci
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Tropical Diseases, Department of Science, Medical School, Industrial University of Santander, Colombia.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Escobar
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Rivadávio Fernandes Batista
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Amorim
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Department of Genetics and Morphology, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Brasília, Brazil. Electronic address: razevedo@unb.br.
authors.forename: Ricardo Bentes
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Azevedo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004655:Emulsions; D065748:Euterpe / Q000737:chemistry*; D008545:Melanoma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D036103:Nanotechnology; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D004655:Emulsions; D010938:Plant Oils
keywords: B16F10; C57BL/6; Melanoma; Nanobiotechnology; Photodynamic therapy; Phototoxicity