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Updated: Jul 10, 2026
Murine Excisional Wound Healing Model and Histological Morphometric Wound Analysis
Published on: August 21, 2020
Low-level light stimulates excisional wound healing in mice
Tatiana N Demidova-Rice1, Elena V Salomatina, Anna N Yaroslavsky
1Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
Background:
Low levels of laser or non-coherent light, termed low-level light therapy (LLLT) have been reported to accelerate some phases of wound healing, but its clinical use remains controversial.
Methods:
A full thickness dorsal excisional wound in mice was treated with a single exposure to light of various wavelengths and fluences 30 minutes after wounding. Wound areas were measured until complete healing and immunofluorescence staining of tissue samples was carried out.
Results:
Wound healing was significantly stimulated in BALB/c and SKH1 hairless mice but not in C57BL/6 mice. Illuminated wounds started to contract while control wounds initially expanded for the first 24 hours. We found a biphasic dose-response curve for fluence of 635-nm light with a maximum positive effect at 2 J/cm(2). Eight hundred twenty nanometer was found to be the best wavelength tested compared to 635, 670, and 720 nm. We found no difference between non-coherent 635+/-15-nm light from a lamp and coherent 633-nm light from a He/Ne laser. LLLT increased the number of alpha-smooth muscle actin (SMA)-positive cells at the wound edge.
Conclusion:
LLLT stimulates wound contraction in susceptible mouse strains but the mechanism remains uncertain.
