Sonodynamic therapy––a review of the synergistic effects of drugs and ultrasound

Abstract

Sonodynamic therapy, the ultrasound dependent enhancement of cytotoxic activities of certain compounds (sonosensitizers) in studies with cells in vitro and in tumor bearing animals, is reviewed. The attractive features of this modality for cancer treatment emerges from the ability to focus the ultrasound energy on malignancy sites buried deep in tissues and to locally activate a preloaded sonosensitizer. Possible mechanisms of sonodynamic therapy include generation of sonosensitizer derived radicals which initiate chain peroxidation of membrane lipids via peroxyl and/or alkoxyl radicals, the physical destabilization of the cell membrane by the sonosensitizer thereby rendering the cell more susceptible to shear forces or ultrasound enhanced drug transport across the cell membrane (sonoporation). Evidence against the role of singlet oxygen in sonodynamic therapy is discussed. The mechanism of sonodynamic therapy is probably not governed by a universal mechanism, but may be influenced by multiple factors including the nature of the biological model, the sonosensitizer and the ultrasound parameters. The current review emphasizes the effect of ultrasound induced free radicals in sonodynamic therapy.

Synergistic effect of ultrasound and PEI on DNA transfection in vitro

“…The mechanism remains under investigation, but is believed to involve increased uptake of DNA molecules into the cell and, possibly, upregulation of gene expression by an undetermined pathway. Another advantage of ultrasound-mediated transfection is that ultrasound can be noninvasively focused on almost any location in the body, which provides significant clinical advantages [17].…”

Implicações da lipoclasia dermossônica no metabolismo energético e na composição corporal de ratos Wistar saudáveis

“…Some evidence and several reports in the literature 20,21,25 show that, in this compartment of the WAT (i.e. the subcutaneous fat pad) of humans and rodents, there is a greater capacity for leptin expression, synthesis, and secretion, as well as other proinflammatory adipokines, namely the interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α) [4][5][6][7] . In addition, they make it clear that high levels of these adipokines lead to expressive cardiovascular repercussions, and also modulate important neuropeptide functions and anorexigen hormones in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus 17,28,29 .…”

“…The broad use of ultrasound therapy in several health branches made it possible to identify several different biological effects of low-intensity ultrasound (US) in a number of tissues [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] , namely fibrinolytic effects 9 , as well as thrombolytic 10 , lipolytic 6,8 , angiogenic 13 , enzymatic 5,14 , and oxidative effects 13 , as well as synergic in vasoactive drugs 4,5 , to name but a few 3,11 . All of these effects are directly associated with the dosages used (power, frequency, time-length), and also with the responsiveness of the biological tissue exposed, i.e.…”

“…dosages and ways to apply them -to bring about local changes in the biological tissue exposed [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] .…”

“…Paradoxically, the beneficial findings of low-intensity ultrasound therapy in various fields 2,5,7,10,11 are rarely found in clinical studies or in robust experimental research dealing with the local and systemic metabolic risks of fat mobilization and release triggered by the use of dermosonic lipoclasis (DLC), lysis of subcutaneous adipose cells by LIUST, seeing that this is broadly used in surgical, aesthetic, and cosmeceutical treatments 4,8,10,23,25 . Therefore, the goal of this study was to evaluate the implications of DLC on the energetic metabolism and body fat distribution of healthy rats, by means of measurements such as weight, length, plasma biochemistry, body composition (obesity index) 26 and bilateral lipectomy of the fat depositions 27 .…”