Low power laser irradiation stimulates cell proliferation via proliferating cell nuclear antigen and Ki-67 expression during tissue repair

Low power laser irradiation (LPLI) is becoming an increasingly popular and fast growing therapeutic modality in dermatology to treat various ailments without any reported side effects. In the present study an attempt was made to investigate the proliferative potential of red laser light during tissue repair in Swiss albino mice. To this end, full thickness excisional wounds of diameter 15 mm created on mice were exposed to single dose of Helium-Neon laser (632.8 nm; 7 mW; 4.02 mWcm^-2; Linear polarization) at 2 Jcm^-2 and 10 Jcm^-2 along with un-illuminated controls. The granulation tissues from all the respective experimental groups were harvested on day 10 post-wounding following euthanization. Subsequently, tissue regeneration potential of these laser doses under study were evaluated by monitoring proliferating cell nuclear antigen and Ki-67 following the laser treatment and comparing it with the un-illuminated controls. The percentages of Ki-67 or PCNA positive cells were determined by counting positive nuclei (Ki-67/PCNA) and total nuclei in five random fields per tissue sections. Animal wounds treated with single exposure of the 2 Jcm-2 indicated significant elevation in PCNA (P<0.01) and Ki-67 (P<0.05 compared to un-illuminated control and P<0.01 compared to 10 Jcm^-2) expression as compared to other tested experimental groups as evidenced by the microscopy results in the study. In summary, the findings of the present study have clearly demonstrated the regulation of cell proliferation by LPLI via PCNA and Ki-67 expression during tissue regeneration.