A new possible treatment for skin fibrosis with blue light: an in vitro study

Wound healing is a dynamic process consisting in four overlapped phases: haemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and remodelling. In our previous in vivo studies on superficial abrasions model, we analysed some cellular type of inflammatory infiltration and tissue remodelling after healing in treated and untreated samples with blue LED light. We pointed out that the blue light carried out an early enter in inflammatory phase and it accelerates the differentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts, improving collagen morphology, leading to a faster healing of the treated tissues. Fibroblasts are the main cells involved in collagen deposition and their overactivity conducts on scars formation and keloid development. The purpose of this work is to investigate the effects of blue light on fibroblasts. In our in vitro studies we irradiated with a blue light primary culture from human keloid fibroblasts which are then analysed by the use of WST8 and SRB assays, electrophysiology and confocal microscopy in order to assess its influence on cells viability and metabolism, membrane potential response and myofibroblast activity. Results show that the blue light has an irradiation time- dependent modulation effect on keloids fibroblasts metabolism but not on viability, and that after irradiation there is a membrane potential response.