¹QLT Photo Therapeutics Inc., 520 West 6th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V5Z 4H5

²Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Science, University of British Columbia, 300-6174 University Blvd., Vancouver, BC, Canada, VT6 1W5

^aAuthor for correspondence

Caspases have been shown to play a crucial role in apoptosis induced by various deleterious and physiologic stimuli. In this study, we show for the first time that photodynamic therapy (PDT), using benzoporphyrin derivative monoacid ring A (BPD-MA, verteporfin) as the photosensitizer, induces the complete cleavage and subsequent activation of caspase-3 (CPP32/Yama/Apopain) but not caspase-1 (ICE) in human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and the catalytic subunit of DNA dependent protein kinase (DNA PK_CS) were cleaved within 60 min of light activation of BPD-MA. The general caspase inhibitor Z-Asp-2,6 dichlorobenzoyloxymethylketone (Z-Asp-DCB) blocked PARP cleavage while the serine protease inhibitors 3,4-dichloroisocoumarin (DCI) and N-tosyl-lysyl chloromethyl ketone (TLCK) blocked the cleavage of caspase-3 suggesting that they act upstream of caspase-3 activation. All three inhibitors were able to block DNA fragmentation that was induced by treatment with BPD-MA followed by light application. These studies demonstrate that protease activity, particularly that of caspase-3, is triggered in HL-60 cells treated with lethal levels of BPD-MA and visible light.

PDT; CPP32/Yama/Apopain; PARP; DNA-PK_CS; BPD-MA