Intracellular Molecular-Targeted Photodynamic Therapy

Abstract

This review describes conventional photodynamic therapy (PDT) agents, protein-inactivation studies using photosensitizers, and our recent development of the intracellular molecular-targeted photodynamic therapy (IMT-PDT). We have developed a ligand-directed photosensitizer (LDPS) that combines the glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1), a ligand cancer-specific protein, with di-iodinated BODIPY, a cell membrane-permeable organic photosensitizer. The LDPS induced its anti-tumor effect through GLUT1-specific oxidative photoinactivation. This study demonstrates the potential of novel molecular-targeted PDT, a promising technology that can control the selective inactivation of tumor-specific proteins by light in a spatio-temporal manner.