Proposed Mechanisms of Photobiomodulation or Low-Level Light Therapy
By Lucas Freitas de Freitas, Michael R Hamblin. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, 2016
1,305 citations recorded by the source corpus.
Photobiomodulation also known as low-level laser (or light) therapy (LLLT), has been known for almost 50 years but still has not gained widespread acceptance, largely due to uncertainty about the molecular, cellular, and tissular mechanisms of action. However, in recent years, much knowledge has been gained in this area, which will be summarized in this review. One of the most important chromophores is cytochrome c oxidase (unit IV in the mitochondrial respiratory chain), which contains both heme and copper centers and absorbs light into the near-infrared region. The leading hypothesis is that the photons dissociate inhibitory nitric oxide from the enzyme, leading to an increase in electron transport, mitochondrial membrane potential, and adenosine triphosphate production. Another hypothesis concerns light-sensitive ion channels that can be activated allowing calcium (Ca2+) to enter the cell. After the initial photon absorption events, numerous signaling pathways are activated via reactive oxygen species, cyclic AMP, NO, and Ca2+, leading to activation of transcription factors. These transcription factors can lead to increased expression of genes related to protein synthesis, cell migration and proliferation, anti-inflammatory signaling, anti-apoptotic proteins, and antioxidant enzymes. Stem cells and progenitor cells appear to be particularly susceptible to LLLT.
Subfields: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Pharmacology, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/09095bbfe450265390941c5c39fec33baf70f417
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In Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
In Pharmacology
In Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
Citations in the corpus
- Mechanisms and applications of the anti-inflammatory effects of photobiomodulation (2017, background): “For much of this time the mechanism of action of PBM was unclear, but in recent years much progress has been made in elucidating chromophores and signaling pathways [4].”