Comparison of uptaking characteristics of HMME and HpD by synovial cells of rheumatoid arthritis in vitro

Objective: To investigate the uptaking characteristics of hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether （HMME） by synovial cells of RA in vitro And compared with hematoporphyrin derivative （HpD）,the traditional photosensitizer.Methods: The spectrofluorometer was used to quantitate the concentrations of HMME and HpD in cultured RA synovial cells The relationship between the cellular photosensitizers contents and the concentrations in the medium and the incubating time were determined.Results: The uptake of HMME by RA synovial cells increased with the elevation of the HMME concentration in the medium The cellular HMME content exhibited a saturation pattern,reaching a plateau when exposed to 80.g/ml HMME for 1 hour The saturation concentration of HMME was twice than that of HpD Cellular uptake of HMME was rapid and shown to be time dependent,with 52 9% of maximum concentration reached within 15 minutes,and 84 4% within 60minutes While HpD were 49 1% and 69 2%,respectively.Conclusion: The cultured synovial cells of RA could rapidly uptake more HMME than HpD It was concluded that HMME was superior to HpD in photodynamic synovectomy.