title: High fluence light emitting diode-generated red light modulates characteristics associated with skin fibrosis.
abstract: Skin fibrosis, often referred to as skin scarring, is a significant international health problem with limited treatment options. The hallmarks of skin fibrosis are increased fibroblast proliferation, collagen production, and migration speed. Recently published clinical observations indicate that visible red light may improve skin fibrosis. In this study we hypothesize that high-fluence light-emitting diode-generated red light (HF-LED-RL) modulates the key cellular features of skin fibrosis by decreasing cellular proliferation, collagen production, and migration speed of human skin fibroblasts. Herein, we demonstrate that HF-LED-RL increases reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation for up to 4 hours, inhibits fibroblast proliferation without increasing apoptosis, inhibits collagen production, and inhibits migration speed through modulation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway. We demonstrate that HF-LED-RL is capable of inhibiting the unifying cellular processes involved in skin fibrosis including fibroblast proliferation, collagen production, and migration speed. These findings suggest that HF-LED-RL may represent a new approach to treat skin fibrosis. LED advantages include low cost, portability, and ease of use. Further characterizing the photobiomodulatory effects of HF-LED-RL on fibroblasts and investigating the anti-fibrotic effects of HF-LED-RL in human subjects may provide new insight into the utility of this therapeutic approach for skin fibrosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.|Dermatology Service, Sacramento VA Medical Center, Mather, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mamalis
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.|Dermatology Service, Sacramento VA Medical Center, Mather, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Eugene
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Koo
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Manveer
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Garcha
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.|Dermatology Service, Sacramento VA Medical Center, Mather, CA, USA.
authors.forename: R Rivkah
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Isseroff
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.|Dermatology Service, Sacramento VA Medical Center, Mather, CA, USA.|Department of Dermatology, SUNY Downstate, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Jared
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jagdeo
mesh_terms: D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000528:radiation effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003094:Collagen / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D005355:Fibrosis; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D028022:Low-Level Light Therapy; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology* / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D003094:Collagen; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases
keywords: LED light; Skin fibrosis; low level light therapy; photobiomodulation; phototherapy