The effect of low level laser irradiation on adult human adipose derived stem cells

This study investigated the effect of low level laser irradiation on primary cultures of adult human adipose derived stem cells (ADSC) using a 635-nm diode laser, at 5 J/cm² with a power output of 50.2 mW and a power density of 5.5 mW/cm². Cellular morphology did not appear to change after irradiation. Using the trypan blue exclusion test, the cellular viability of irradiated cells increased by 1% at 24 h and 1.6% at 48 h but was not statistically significant. However, the increase of cellular viability as measured by ATP luminescence was statistically significant at 48 h (p < 0.05). Proliferation of irradiated cells, measured by optical density, resulted in statistically significant increases in values compared to nonirradiated cells (p < 0.05) at both time points. Western blot analysis and immunocytochemical labeling indicated an increase in the expression of stem cell marker β1-integrin after irradiation. These results indicate that 5 J/cm² of laser irradiation can positively affect human adipose stem cells by increasing cellular viability, proliferation, and expression of β1-integrin.