Synergistic Effect of the Combination of the Recombinant Toxin DARPin-LoPE and PDT against HER2-Positive Breast Cancer In Vitro

Abstract

A promising strategy to enhance the therapeutic effectiveness for the treatment of oncological diseases involves the development of combined therapeutic schemes. In our work, we showed the therapeutic potential of the combined action of the anticancer targeted toxin and PDT against HER2-positive breast cancer in vitro. Photodynamic treatment led to photoinduced cell death with IC50 0.64 µM, and after incubation with the toxin for 48 h, IC50 was 2.8 pM. When using two therapeutic agents at IC50 doses, significant increases in the effectiveness were observed; the viability of the combination-treated cell culture did not exceed 10%. The calculated combination index was 0.07, indicating a significant synergistic effect caused by the agents.

Keywords

• targeted therapy
• recombinant anticancer toxin
• DARPin-LoPE
• photodynamic therapy
• Photodithazine
• breast cancer