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Low-level laser therapy enhances muscle regeneration through modulation of inflammatory markers

  • Lívia Assis ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Ana Iochabel Soares Moretti , Sabrina Messa Peviani , João Luiz Quagliotti Durigan , Thiago Luiz Russo , Natália Rodrigues , Jéssica Bastos , Vivian Cury , Heraldo Possolo de Souza and Nivaldo Antonio Parizotto
Published/Copyright: June 7, 2016
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Photonics & Lasers in Medicine
From the journal Photonics & Lasers in Medicine Volume 5 Issue 3

Abstract

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vivo response of two different laser fluences (4 and 8 J/cm2) on molecular markers involved in muscle repair after a cryolesion of the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle.

Study design:

Forty-eight male Wistar rats were randomly distributed into six groups: control (C); normal/uninjured TA muscle treated with either 4 J/cm2 (L4J) or 8 J/cm2 (L8J) laser irradiation; injured TA muscle without treatment (IC); and injured TA muscle treated with either 4 J/cm2 (IL4J) or 8 J/cm2 (IL8J) laser irradiation. The injured region was irradiated daily for 5 consecutive days, starting immediately after the cryolesion was set using a GaAlAs laser (continuous wave; wavelength, 830 nm; tip area, 0.0028 cm2; power, 20 mW). The animals were euthanized on the sixth day after injury. The injured right TA muscles were removed for histological evaluation, zymography, and immunoblotting and biotin switch analyses. Nitrite and nitrate plasma levels were measured to evaluate the nitric oxide (NO) production.

Results:

After low-level laser therapy (LLLT), in both injured treatment groups (IL4J and IL8J) the injured area was reduced, the NO production decreased and the S-nitrosated COX-2 was lowered. Moreover, both laser fluences increased the activity and expression of MMP-2.

Conclusion:

These results suggest that LLLT, for both fluences, could be an efficient therapeutic approach to modulate molecules involved in injured muscle, accelerating regeneration process.

Zusammenfassung

Zielsetzung:

Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war es, den In-vivo-Effekt von zwei verschiedenen Laser-Energiedichten (4 und 8 J/cm2) auf an der Muskelregeneration nach Kryoverletzung des Musculus tibialis anterior (TA) beteiligte molekulare Marker zu untersuchen.

Studiendesign:

Achtundvierzig männliche Wistar-Ratten wurden randomisiert in sechs Gruppen eingeteilt: Kontrollgruppe (C); normaler/unverletzter TA-Muskel behandelt mit entweder 4 J/cm2 (L4J) oder 8 J/cm2 (L8J) Laserbestrahlung; verletzter TA-Muskel ohne Laserbehandlung (IC); und verletzter TA-Muskel behandelt mit entweder 4 J/cm2 (IL4J) oder 8 J/cm2 (IL8J) Laserbestrahlung. Die verletzte Muskelregion wurde einmal täglich an fünf aufeinanderfolgenden Tagen mit einem GaAlAs-Laser (kontinuierlicher Modus, Wellenlänge: 830 nm, Faserendfläche: 0.0028 cm2, Leistung: 20 mW) bestrahlt, beginnend unmittelbar nach der Kryoverletzung. Die Tiere wurden am sechsten Tag nach der Verletzung eingeschläfert. Die verletzten rechten TA-Muskeln wurden für die histologische Auswertung, die Zymographie sowie Immunoblotting- und Biotin-Switch-Tests entnommen. Der Nitrit- und Nitrat-Plasmaspiegel wurde gemessen, um die Stickstoffmonoxid (NO)-Produktion zu bewerten.

Ergebnisse:

Nach der Low-Level-Laser-Therapie (LLLT) war in den Behandlungsgruppen IL4J und IL8J der verletzte Bereich in der Größe reduziert, die NO-Produktion verringert und das S-nitrosylierte COX-2 gesenkt. Außerdem erhöhte die Laserbestrahlung mit beiden Energiedichten die Aktivität und Expression von MMP-2.

Fazit:

Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass die LLLT mit beiden untersuchten Energiedichten einen effizienten therapeutischen Ansatz zur Modulation von Molekülen, die bei Muskelverletzungen eine Rolle spielen, darstellt und zur Beschleunigung des Regenerationsprozesses beiträgt.

Keywords: low-level laser therapy; muscle regeneration; rehabilitation
Schlüsselwörter:: Low-Level-Laser-Therapie; Muskelregeneration; Rehabilitation

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge CAPES Foundation for financial support, Emergency Medicine Division (LIM 51), Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo for providing technical support in biochemical and molecular biology analyses and Núcleo de Pesquisa e Ensino em Fototerapia nas Ciências da Saúde (NUPEN) for supporting and calibrating the laser equipment.

  1. Conflict of interest statement: The authors state no conflict of interest. All authors have read the journal’s Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement available at the journal’s website and hereby confirm that they comply with all its parts applicable to the present scientific work.

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Received: 2016-2-4
Revised: 2016-4-12
Accepted: 2016-4-15
Published Online: 2016-6-7
Published in Print: 2016-8-1

©2016 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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https://doi.org/10.1515/plm-2016-0005
Keywords for this article
low-level laser therapy; muscle regeneration; rehabilitation

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. Light and lasers for vascular and skin diseases: From bench to clinic – An update
  4. Magazine section
  5. Snapshots
  6. Original contributions
  7. A study on the effects of 532 nm continuous laser combined with photodynamic therapy versus 595 nm pulsed dye laser on a chicken comb model of vascular malformation
  8. Calibration of a three-dimensional photodynamic therapy illumination system and its segmentation assessment for port-wine stains
  9. In-vitro effect of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy with methylene blue in two different genera of dermatophyte fungi
  10. Low-level laser therapy enhances muscle regeneration through modulation of inflammatory markers
  11. Case reports
  12. Treatment of recalcitrant viral warts using a 577-nm wavelength high-power optically pumped semiconductor laser
  13. Can laser therapy be the answer for radiodermatitis in anal cancer patients? Two case reports
  14. Use of a 1318 nm Nd:YAG laser for the resection of limited forms of pulmonary tuberculosis
  15. Congress announcements
  16. Congresses 2016/2017
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