Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33130826›Full record

ArticleCell death & disease2020

Photodynamic therapy induces autophagy-mediated cell death in human colorectal cancer cells via activation of the ROS/JNK signaling pathway.

Changfeng Song, Wen Xu, Hongkun Wu, Xiaotong Wang, Qianyi Gong, Chang Liu, Jianwen Liu, Lin Zhou

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cell death & disease, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
42citing papers in PubMed
5.7field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

42 citing papers in PubMed, 78 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Shedding light on the cancer cell death mechanism in photodynamic therapy.Apoptosis : an international journal on programmed cell death · 2026
    Review
  3. Photodynamic effect of carbon dots and aluminum chloride phthalocyanine against skin cancer: modulation by an autophagy inducer.Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Dilating the aging clock with light.Innovation (Cambridge (Mass.)) · 2026
    Review
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  8. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Changfeng SongState Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering and Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, P.R. China.
Wen XuState Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering and Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, P.R. China.
Hongkun WuDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Changzheng Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200003, P.R. China.
Xiaotong WangState Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering and Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, P.R. China.
Qianyi GongState Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering and Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, P.R. China.
Chang LiuDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Changzheng Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200003, P.R. China.
Jianwen LiuState Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering and Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, P.R. China. liujian@ecust.edu.cn.
Lin ZhouDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Changzheng Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200003, P.R. China. lynnzhou36@163.com.
East China University of Science and Technology · CNShanghai Changzheng Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Evidence has shown that m-THPC and verteporfin (VP) are promising sensitizers in photodynamic therapy (PDT). In addition, autophagy can act as a tumor suppressor or a tumor promoter depending on the photosensitizer (PS) and the cancer cell type. However, the role of autophagy in m-THPC- and VP-mediated PDT in in vitro and in vivo models of human colorectal cancer (CRC) has not been reported. In this study, m-THPC-PDT or VP-PDT exhibited significant phototoxicity, inhibited proliferation, and induced the generation of large amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in CRC cells. From immunoblotting, fluorescence image analysis, and transmission electron microscopy, we found extensive autophagic activation induced by ROS in cells. In addition, m-THPC-PDT or VP-PDT treatment significantly induced apoptosis in CRC cells. Interestingly, the inhibition of m-THPC-PDT-induced autophagy by knockdown of ATG5 or ATG7 substantially inhibited the apoptosis of CRC cells. Moreover, m-THPC-PDT treatment inhibited tumorigenesis of subcutaneous HCT116 xenografts. Meanwhile, antioxidant treatment markedly inhibited autophagy and apoptosis induced by PDT in CRC cells by inactivating JNK signaling. In conclusion, inhibition of autophagy can remarkably alleviate PDT-mediated anticancer efficiency in CRC cells via inactivation of the ROS/JNK signaling pathway. Our study provides evidence for the therapeutic application of m-THPC and VP in CRC.

Indexed as

AnimalsAutophagyCell DeathCell Line, TumorColorectal NeoplasmsHumansMaleMAP Kinase Kinase 4MicePhotochemotherapyReactive Oxygen SpeciesSignal TransductionMAP Kinase Kinase 4Reactive Oxygen Species

Identifiers

PMID33130826
PMCPMC7603522
OpenAlexW3097457390

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.