Laura N Milla Sanabria

National University of Río Cuarto (UNRC), Argentina

Isolation and initial characterization of human glioblastoma cells resistant to photodynamic therapy

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Biography

Dr Laura N. Milla Sanabria develops her research work looking for mechanisms of tumor resistance to photodynamic therapy (PDT). She has developed studies on biodistribution, biocompatibility and phototherapeutic efficacy in mice using synthetic photosensitizers. L. Milla has completed her doctorate at National University of Río Cuarto (under the supervision of Dr Viviana A. Rivarola) and at Autonomous University of Madrid (under the supervision of Dr Ángeles Juarranz). She has isolated and characterized PDT-resistant glioblastoma cells with the aim of studying possible therapeutic targets and will expand her studies on this topic to contribute to the treatment of this severe type of cancer.

Abstract

Glioblastoma is the most common and most severe form of primary brain cancer. Despite multimodal therapy combining surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, prognosis of patients is dismal. It has been observed that the surgical resection guided by photosensitizer fluorescence followed by photodynamic therapy (PDT) prolongs the average survival in patients with glioblastoma. The main problem with all oncological treatments, including PDT, is the presence of resistant cells. The objective of our study was to isolate and perform an initial characterization of human glioblastoma cells resistant to PDT employing methyl-5-aminolevulinic acid. We obtained resistant cells from the T98G cell line. Resistant populations accumulated less photosensitizer, formed spheroids of higher number of cells, had higher tumorigenic capacity, and expressed higher mRNA levels of fibroblastic growth factor receptor (FGFR), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and ?-platelet-derived growth factor receptor (?PDGFR) than parental cells. The studies of glioblastoma resistance to PDT would help to better understand the causes of tumor recurrence after PDT and to develop new therapeutic proposals in this field of oncology.