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Anti-inflammatory and lymphangiogenetic effects of low-level laser therapy on lymphedema in an experimental mouse tail model

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the therapeutic mechanism of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in the mouse tail lymphedema model. Six-week-old female mice were classified into the laser treatment group, sham treatment group, and surgical control group (10 mice per group). LLLT was administered daily for 10 min from the surgical day to 11 days (12 times). Macrophage activation and lymphatic vessel regeneration were evaluated through immunohistochemical staining with anti-F4/80 and anti-LYVE-1 antibodies, respectively, at 12 days post-procedure. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was performed to measure messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of vascular endothelial growth factor A, B, C, R1, R2, and R3 (VEGF-A, VEGF-B, VEGF-C, VEGFR1, VEGFR2, and VEGFR3) at 12 days post-procedure. Student’s t and one-way ANOVA tests were performed for statistical analyses. Significance was defined as p < 0.05. The thickness of the tail rapidly increased until 6 days in the laser and sham groups. The mice in the laser group showed a significantly decreased thickness compared with the sham group at 10 and 12 days. Immunohistochemistry assay revealed that LLLT reduced inflammation and induced new lymphatic vessel growth. qPCR showed that expressions of VEGFR3 were (p = 0.002) increased in the laser group. These results suggest that LLLT has anti-inflammatory and lymphangiogenetic effects for the management of lymphedema.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant (2012-478) from the Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Seoul, Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Incheon St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Incheon, Republic of Korea

    Dae-Hyun Jang

  2. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Asan Medical Center, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, 88, Olympic-Ro 43-Gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 138-736, Republic of Korea

    Da-Hyun Song & Eun-Ju Chang

  3. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Asan Medical Center, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, 88, Olympic-Ro 43-Gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 138-736, Republic of Korea

    Jae Yong Jeon

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  1. Dae-Hyun Jang
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Correspondence to Eun-Ju Chang or Jae Yong Jeon.

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All protocols were approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of the Asan Medical Center.

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Jang, DH., Song, DH., Chang, EJ. et al. Anti-inflammatory and lymphangiogenetic effects of low-level laser therapy on lymphedema in an experimental mouse tail model. Lasers Med Sci 31, 289–296 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-015-1854-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-015-1854-y

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