Journal of Lasers in Medical Sciences

Abstract

Introduction: Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) possess remarkable proliferative ability and multilineage differentiation potential, and they are known as immunomodulatory cells. Identifying factors that enhance DPSC proliferation is crucial, as accelerated expansion is necessary for tissue engineering applications, while maintaining pluripotency gene expression is essential to preserve their proliferative and differentiation potential. Low-level laser irradiation (LLLI) has increasingly been recognized as a promising non-invasive approach to accelerate proliferation and enhance tissue regeneration. Within this framework, the current study was designed to evaluate the influence of laser irradiation on proliferation, pluripotency, and angiogenesis in DPSCs.
Methods: The DPSCs were purchased from the Iranian Biological Resources Center and cultured under standard conditions. The experimental protocol involved exposing DPSCs to a 980 nm diode laser with an output power of 50 mW for a duration of 20 seconds, corresponding to an energy density of 1 J/cm². Following a 24-hour incubation period post-irradiation, cell viability was quantitatively measured using the MTT colorimetric assay. Subsequently, the expression levels of Sox2, Nanog, VEGF, TGF-β, PCNA, and Cyclin D1 were assessed through quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), while the protein expression of Sox2, TGF-β, and Cyclin D1 was determined using western blot analysis.
Results: The results showed that laser irradiation at 980 nm for 20 seconds increased the expression of Sox2, TGF-β, and Cyclin D1 at the RNA expression level (P<0.05). Moreover, Sox2 and Cyclin D1 protein levels were increased compared to the control group.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that irradiation with a 980-nm laser at an energy density of 1 J/cm² significantly enhances the proliferative capacity and upregulates pluripotency marker expression in DPSCs, supporting its potential as a therapeutic approach in regenerative medicine.