FIG 4.

Ga-PPIX toxicity toward A549 human cells and G. mellonella larvae. (A) Submerged A549 cell monolayers containing 4 × 10⁵ cells were incubated with increasing concentrations of Ga-PPIX dissolved in DMSO and added to DMEM containing 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum without antibiotics. Cell viability was determined after 24 h of incubation at 37°C in the presence of 5% CO₂. Responses to the presence of Ga-PPIX were compared to those detected with cells cultured in the absence of this metalloporphyrin derivative. Values that are significantly different from the value for the control (0 μg/ml Ga-PPIX) are indicated by asterisks as follows: ***, P = 0.0004; ****, P < 0.0001. (B) Mass-matched G. mellonella larvae were injected with 5 μl of twofold dilutions ranging from 0.2 mM to 25 mM Ga-PPIX solubilized in 0.5 N NaOH and 1.5% DMSO. Larvae injected with 0.5 N NaOH, 1.5% DMSO, or PBS or not injected (No Inj) served as controls. The inset shows the mean masses of all animal groups with error bars showing standard errors.