Abstract
Fluorescence emission, polarization and subcellular localization of methylene blue (MB) were studied in four cancerous and two normal human brain cell lines. Fluorescence emission and polarization images were acquired and analyzed. The co-localization of MB with mitochondria, lysosomes and nuclei of the cells was evaluated. Glioblastoma cells exhibited significantly higher MB fluorescence polarization compared to normal astrocytes. Preferential accumulation of MB in mitochondria of glioblastoma cells may explain higher fluorescence polarization values in cancer cells as compared to normal. These findings may lead to the development of a quantitative method for the detection of brain cancer in single cells.
Highlights
More than 23,000 new cases of malignant brain tumors are expected to be diagnosed in 2019 in the United States; approximately 18,000 individuals will die from the disease [1]
We showed that cultured human breast cancer cells exhibited significantly higher methylene blue (MB) fluorescence polarization (FP) as compared to normal breast cells [23]
The normal Clonetics-normal human astrocyte (NHA) had an average FP value of 21.55 ± 0.08 x10−2, which is comparable to the average value of 21.46 ± 0.12 x10−2 exhibited by Gibco-NHA
Summary
More than 23,000 new cases of malignant brain tumors are expected to be diagnosed in 2019 in the United States; approximately 18,000 individuals will die from the disease [1]. Gliomas account for approximately 80% of the malignant primary brain tumors, including high-grade, fast-growing glioblastomas. In the majority of cases, brain cancers are diagnosed using histopathology, which relies on the qualitative morphological assessment of tissues and cells, i.e., visual recognition of differences in appearance of cancerous and normal structures. Histopathologic analysis is subjective by nature, being strongly dependent on the training and experience of the pathologist involved. This method is time-consuming and expensive, as it requires the use of multiple stains and extensive tissue processing. The search for objective, quantitative markers of brain cancer, as well as for the methods of cancer detection that could be utilized in vivo, remains a hot topic in cancer research [3,4]
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