Abstract:

Objective To measure the changes in levels of tumor necrosis factor α （TNF-α） secreted by human endothelial cells EC-304 after hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether-photodynamic treatment （HMME-PDT）, and to explore the relationship between cytokines and inflammation initiation after management of nevus flammeus with photodynamic therapy. Methods EC-304 cells were cultured in 6-well plates, and classified into 4 groups: HMME-PDT group pretreated with HMME followed by irradiation with laser, HMME control group treated with HMME only, laser control group irradiated with laser only, and blank control group without any treatment. Culture supernatants of EC-304 cells were collected from HMME-PDT group at 12, 24 and 48 hours after the irradiation, and from the other three groups at the same time points. The supernatant TNF-α level was measured with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Results The difference was statistically significant in the supernatant TNF-α level between different time points in each group （F = 62.276, P < 0.01） and between the 4 groups at each time point （F = 11.538, P < 0.01）. Multiple comparison analysis showed that HMME-PDT group differed significantly from the other 3 control groups in the supernatant TNF-α level at each time point （all P < 0.01）, while no significant difference was observed among the other three control groups at any time point （all P > 0.05）. Conclusion HMME-PDT promotes the secretion of TNF-α by EC-304 cells.

Key words: photodynamic therapy, cytokine, endothelial cell