Targeting tumour energy metabolism potentiates the cytotoxicity of 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy

BACKGROUND: Cancerous cells usually exhibit increased aerobic glycolysis, compared with normal tissue (the Warburg effect), making this pathway an attractive therapeutic target. METHODS: Cell viability, cell number, clonogenic assay, reactive oxygen (ROS), ATP, and apoptosis were assayed in MCF-7 tumour cells and corresponding primary human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC). RESULTS: Combining the glycolysis inhibitors 2-deoxyglucose (2DG; 180 mM) or lonidamine (300 μM) with 10 J cm(−2) 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) photodynamic therapy (PDT) increases MCF-7 cytotoxicity (by 3.5-fold to 70% death after 24 h, and by 10-fold in 9-day clonogenic assays). However, glycolysis inhibition only slightly increases HMEC PDT cytotoxicity (between two-fold and three-fold to a maximum of 9% death after 24 h). The potentiation of PDT cytotoxicity only occurred if the glycolysis inhibitors were added after ALA incubation, as they inhibited intracellular accumulation of photosensitiser if coincubated with ALA. CONCLUSION: As 2DG and lonidamine are already used as cancer chemotherapeutic agents, our results are directly translatable to combination therapies with existing topical PDT.