Photodynamic therapy (
PDT) effectiveness can be improved by employing combined modality approaches involving
pharmaceuticals targeting the tumor microenvironment and/or
tumor cell death pathways. In one approach, combining
PDT with
celecoxib improves long-term tumoricidal activity without increasing normal tissue
photosensitization. However, side effects arising from the use of
coxib based
cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors, including cardiovascular injury, decreases the clinical applications of this class of compounds. A growing number of studies demonstrate that the tumoricidal actions of
coxibs such as
celecoxib involve non-COX-2 mediated mechanisms. The
celecoxib analog, 2,5-dimethyl
celecoxib (DMC), lacks COX-2 inhibitory activity but exhibits cytotoxic properties comparable to the
COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib. We compared the effectiveness of DMC and
celecoxib in modulating
PDT response at both the in vitro and in vivo level using a C3H/BA murine mammary
carcinoma model. Both DMC and
celecoxib blocked
PDT induced expression of the pro-survival
protein survivin, enhanced the endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) response of
PDT, and increased both apoptosis and cytotoxicity in BA cells exposed to combination protocols. DMC enhanced the in vivo tumoricidal responsiveness of
PDT without altering
PGE2 levels. Our data demonstrates that DMC improved
PDT by increasing apoptosis and tumoricidal activity without modulating COX-2 catalytic activity. Our results also suggest that
celecoxib mediated enhancement of
PDT may involve both COX-2 dependent and independent mechanisms.