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Ryabova et al. Vessel Plus 2019;3:17 Vessel Plus
DOI: 10.20517/2574-1209.2019.10

Letter to Editor Open Access

Subcellular anti-atherosclerotic therapy

Anastasia V. Ryabova , Igor D. Romanishkin , Aleksey S. Skobeltsin , Arkadii S. Moskalev , Vladimir I.
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Makarov , Victor B. Loschenov , Nikita G. Nikiforov , Igor A. Sobenin , Alexander N. Orekhov 2
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1 Prokhorov Institute of General Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 125315, Russia.
2 Institute of General Pathology and Pathophysiology, Moscow 125315, Russia.
Correspondence to: Dr. Alexander N. Orekhov, Laboratory of Angiopathology, Institute of General Pathology and Pathophysiology,
Moscow 125315, Russia. E-mail: a.h.opexob@gmail.com
How to cite this article: Ryabova AV, Romanishkin ID, Skobeltsin AS, Moskalev AS, Makarov VI, Loschenov VB, Nikiforov NG,
Sobenin IA, Orekhov AN. Subcellular anti-atherosclerotic therapy. Vessel Plus 2019;3:17.
http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2574-1209.2019.10
Received: 12 Feb 2019 First Decision: 17 Feb 2019 Revised: 17 Feb 2019 Accepted: 17 Feb 2019 Published: 22 May 2019

Science Editor: Alexander N. Orekhov Copy Editor: Cai-Hong Wang Production Editor: Huan-Liang Wu

Dear Editor,

[1]
Photo-theranostics is a therapeutic and diagnostic approach that uses photosensibilization . This approach
[2]
makes part of the medicine of the future-subcellular therapy, including at the level of mitochondria . Photo-
theranostics targets cells and tissues that are affected by pathological changes inducing apoptotic cell death.
However, the approach allows targeting cellular organelles, if the photo-sensitizing agent is accumulated
selectively. Such selectivity can result from the organelle’s functional state, as in the case of mitochondria
affected by mitochondrial genome abnormalities. Currently, subcellular therapy is being developed
mainly for cancer cells, but we believe that such approaches are applicable to cardiology, in particular, for
atherosclerotic diseases. For instance, some pro-atherogenic mitochondrial DNA mutations associated with
[3]
atherosclerosis can lead to mitochondrial dysfunction .
Some photo-sensitizing agents accumulate selectively in mitochondria making the photodynamic
targeting efficient enough. Thus, protoporfyrine IX (PpIX), which is widely used in clinical practice, is
produced from a prodrug 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) in course of heme synthesis cascade in the
mitochondria. Exogenous 5-ALA causes excessive formation of PpIX, which cannot be efficiently processed
by ferrochelatase and accumulates in the cells. PpIX accumulation directly depends on the cell’s metabolic
activity.

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