Frontiers in Neuroscience (Apr 2023)

The anti-inflammatory effects of photobiomodulation are mediated by cytokines: Evidence from a mouse model of inflammation

  • Shirin Shamloo,
  • Shirin Shamloo,
  • Erwin Defensor,
  • Erwin Defensor,
  • Peter Ciari,
  • Gaku Ogawa,
  • Laura Vidano,
  • Jennifer S. Lin,
  • Jennifer S. Lin,
  • John A. Fortkort,
  • Mehrdad Shamloo,
  • Annelise E. Barron

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2023.1150156
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17

Abstract

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There is an urgent need for therapeutic approaches that can prevent or limit neuroinflammatory processes and prevent neuronal degeneration. Photobiomodulation (PBM), the therapeutic use of specific wavelengths of light, is a safe approach shown to have anti-inflammatory effects. The current study was aimed at evaluating the effects of PBM on LPS-induced peripheral and central inflammation in mice to assess its potential as an anti-inflammatory treatment. Daily, 30-min treatment of mice with red/NIR light (RL) or RL with a 40 Hz gamma frequency flicker for 10 days prior to LPS challenge showed anti-inflammatory effects in the brain and systemically. PBM downregulated LPS induction of key proinflammatory cytokines associated with inflammasome activation, IL-1β and IL-18, and upregulated the anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-10. RL provided robust anti-inflammatory effects, and the addition of gamma flicker potentiated these effects. Overall, these results demonstrate the potential of PBM as an anti-inflammatory treatment that acts through cytokine expression modulation.

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