Transcranial low‐level laser therapy in an in vivo model of stroke: Relevance to the brain infarct, microglia activation and neuroinflammation

• Published in: Journal of biophotonics 2021-06, Vol.14 (6), p.e202000500-n/a
• Main Authors: Vogel, Débora D. S., Ortiz‐Villatoro, Nancy N., Araújo, Noemi S., Marques, Márcia Jonathas Guimarães, Aimbire, Flavio, Scorza, Fúlvio A., Scorza, Carla A., Albertini, Regiane
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal models; Brain damage; brain infarct; Brain injury; Dosage; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Fish oils; Glial fibrillary acidic protein; Head injuries; Immunohistochemistry; In vivo methods and tests; Inflammation; Ischemia; Light therapy; Microglia; neuroinflammation; Neuroprotection; omega‐3; photobiomodulation; Stereology; Stroke; Tumor necrosis factor
• ISSN: 1864-063X; 1864-0648
• DOI: 10.1002/jbio.202000500

Stroke is the main cause of death and functional disability. The available therapy affects only 5% of patients, and new therapeutic approaches have been constantly tested. Transcranial photobiomodulation (PBM) is promising for its neuroprotective effect on brain injuries. Thus, the present study investigated the PBM effects in an in vivo model of ischemic stroke induced by photothrombosis (PT). Five different groups of Wistar rats were submitted or not to a daily dose of fish oil or/and laser sessions for 2 months. The ischemia volume was evaluated by stereology; GFAP, Iba and NeuN by immunohistochemistry; TNF‐α, IL‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐10 and TGF‐β by ELISA assay. PBM influenced both the lesion volume and the GFAP. Furthermore, PBM and Ω‐3 or both reduced Iba RNAm. PBM reduced TNF‐α, IL‐1β, IL‐6, brain damage, neuroinflammation and microglial activation, and it increased astroglial activity in peri‐lesioned region after stroke. Stroke is the main cause of death and functional disability. The available therapy affects only 5% of patients, and new therapeutic approaches have been constantly tested. Transcranial photobiomodulation (PBM) is promising for its neuroprotective effect on brain injuries. Thus, the present study investigated the PBM effects in an in vivo model of ischemic stroke induced by photothrombosis (PT). Five different groups of Wistar rats were submitted or not to a daily dose of fish oil or/and laser sessions for 2 months. PBM influenced both the lesion volume and the GFAP.