Furocoumarins photolysis products induce differentiation of human erythroid cells

• Published in: Journal of photochemistry and photobiology. B, Biology Biology, 2008-07, Vol.92 (1), p.24-28
• Main Authors: Viola, Giampietro, Vedaldi, Daniela, Dall’Acqua, Francesco, Lampronti, Ilaria, Bianchi, Nicoletta, Zuccato, Cristina, Borgatti, Monica, Gambari, Roberto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Erythroid Cells - drug effects; Erythroid Cells - metabolism; Erythroid differentiation; Erythroid precursor; Erythropoiesis - drug effects; Furocoumarins - chemistry; Furocoumarins - pharmacology; Furocoumarins - radiation effects; Hemoglobins - biosynthesis; Hemoglobins - drug effects; Humans; K562 Cells; Methoxsalen - analogs & derivatives; Methoxsalen - pharmacology; Methoxsalen - radiation effects; Photolysis; Psoralen photolysis; Ultraviolet Rays
• ISSN: 1011-1344; 1873-2682
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2008.04.001

Psoralens, also known as furocoumarins, are a well-known class of photosensitizers largely used in the therapy of various skin disease. In this study we have evaluated the effects of crude pre-irradiated solutions of furocoumarins derivatives on (a) erythroid differentiation and apoptosis of human leukemic K562 cells and (b) hemoglobin synthesis in cultures of human erythroid progenitors derived from the peripheral blood. To prove the activity of a mixture of photoproducts generated by UVA irradiation of the three psoralen derivatives 5-methoxypsoralen (5-MOP) 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP), and angelicin (ANG), we employed the human leukemic K562 cell line and the two-phase liquid culture procedure for growing erythroid progenitors. The results obtained demonstrate that pre-irradiated solutions of psoralen derivatives significantly induce erythroid differentiation of K562 cells irrespective of the type of derivative used, suggesting that the active photoproduct(s) share a common structure. Interestingly, solutions of psoralens irradiated in anaerobic conditions do not exhibits erythroid inducing ability, indicating that the effect is mostly due to photooxidized psoralen products. In erythroid precursor cells, psoralens photolysis products stimulates at low concentrations an increase of hemoglobin A and hemoglobin F. Altogether, these data suggest that photoproducts of psoralen warrant further evaluation as potential therapeutic drugs in β-thalassaemia and sickle cell anaemia.