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Effects of systemic vascular photobiomodulation using LED or laser on sensory–motor recovery following a peripheral nerve injury in Wistar rats

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Abstract

Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) is associated with considerable functional impairment. Photobiomodulation (PBM) has demonstrated positive effects regarding neuromuscular repair after PNI when applied locally to the nerve or injured muscle. However, the effects of systemic PBM with transcutaneous application over an important artery, which is also denominated vascular PBM (VPBM), remain unclear. The aim of the study was to compare the effects of VPBM with low-level laser (LLL) and light-emitting diode (LED) on gait, sensitivity and muscle morphology following a PNI. PNI was induced on Wistar rats using the sciatic nerve crushing technique. VPBM was performed over the rat’s artery tail region with LED (850 nm, 40 mW, 3.2 J) and LLL (780 nm, 40 mW, 3.2 J). Gait functionality, mechanical (nociceptive) sensitivity, and morphology of the tibialis anterior muscle were evaluated at 7, 14, and 21 days after injury. An improvement in functional gait was shown in the VPBM-LLL group in all periods. Motor sensitivity was found after 14 days in the VPBM-LLL group. The left/right (L/R) muscle mass ratio revealed a reduction in muscle atrophy in the VPBM-LLL group at 7 days. Muscle fiber diameter increased in the VPBM-LED group at 14 days and increases in the cross-section area were found in the VPBM-LED and VPBM-LLL groups at 7 days. VPBM with both light sources (LED and LLL) positively modulated functioning and neuromuscular recovery following sciatic nerve injury in rats, with more pronounced results when using LLL.

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Funding

This work was funded by São Paulo Research Foundation—FAPESP (2020/13976-0), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—CAPES (88887.481244/2020-00; 88887.475566/2020-00) and UNINOVE.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Universidade Nove de Julho (UNINOVE), 235/249 Vergueiro Street, São Paulo, SP, 01525000, Brazil

      Tamires Araujo, Lucas Andreo, Daysi da Cruz Tobelem, Tamiris Silva, Tainá Caroline dos Santos Malavazzi, Andreia Martinelli, Kristianne Porta Santos Fernandes, Sandra Kalil Bussadori & Raquel Agnelli Mesquita-Ferrari

    2. Laboratory of Physiology and Cardiac Pathophysiology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, 04040003, Brazil

      Bruno Lemes

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    1. Tamires Araujo
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    Contributions

    All authors contributed to the study conception and design. The planning, execution of experiments, and collection were performed by [T. A.], [L. A.], [D. C. T.], [T. S.] and [T. C. S. M.] and [A. M.]. The data analysis was performed by [T. A.], [L. A.], [T. C. S. M.] and [B. L.]. Original draft preparation was written by [T. A.], [L. A.] and [R. A. M.-F.]. The review and editing was performed by [K. P. S. F.] and [S. K. B.]. Supervision was made by [R. A. M.-F.], [K. P. S. F.] and [S. K. B.].

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    Correspondence to Raquel Agnelli Mesquita-Ferrari.

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    The authors declare no conflict of interest.

    Ethical approval

    This study received approval from the Animal Research Ethics Committee of Universidade Nove de Julho (UNINOVE; process number: 3249161020). All experiments were performed in compliance with the guidelines of the Brazilian National Council for the Control of Animal Experimentation. This study does not include human participants.

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    Araujo, T., Andreo, L., Tobelem, D.C. et al. Effects of systemic vascular photobiomodulation using LED or laser on sensory–motor recovery following a peripheral nerve injury in Wistar rats. Photochem Photobiol Sci 22, 567–577 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43630-022-00335-8

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