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Has the time come to include low-level laser photobiomodulation as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of impaired endometrial receptivity?

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Abstract

Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has been used in photobiomodulation to promote healing, regenerate, and restore tissue function. Women with persistent thin endometrium were assumed to encounter diminished activity in the regenerative and functional capacity of their endometrium. The aim of this study was to examine the ability of LLLT in 635 nm wavelength to enhance the proliferation and gene expression of in vitro cultured endometrial cells. Single (SE) versus multiple exposures (ME) to LLLT were examined in the study groups and compared to controls. A fluence dose of 4.27 J/cm2 for 16 min was given once in the SE or divided in three equal sessions in days 2, 4, and 6 of the culture in ME. Cellular response was evaluated by measuring viable cell numbers and surface area. Pattern of MUC1, ITGA5, ITGB3, LIF, and PTEN gene expression was assessed using the qRT-PCR. Greater numbers of cells were found in both study groups (P < 0.001) as compared to controls. The surface area of cells at the end of culture phase was highly significant (P < 0.001) in ME when compared to SE and controls. A statistically significant difference was found in terms of gene expression in both irradiated groups (P < 0.001) as compared to controls, although greater difference in PTEN tumour suppressor gene (Phosphatase and tensin homolog) expression was toward ME. The introduction of LLLT to the armamentarium of infertility will serve as a new adjuvant therapy in this field. The current study proofed that LLLT was able to increase the proliferative and functional capacity of cultured endometrial cells.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the productive collaboration between NRC and National Institute of Laser Enhanced Science.

Funding

The study was conducted in collaboration between the National Research Centre (NRC) and the National institute of Laser and Enhanced Science that follows Cairo University.Neverthless, the main funding was received from the National Research Centre.

The NRC is a governmental institute; it provides funds to researchers to be able to conduct high-quality research. The provided fund in this study covered the following: all required materials either non-biological or biological materials such as enzymes, medias, hormones; additionally, required equipment’s and machines present in the labs of NRC were permitted to be used during the study duration. The National Institute of Laser and Enhanced Science is also a governmental institute that permitted the use of the laser machine and the potentiometer, where they were transferred to the NRC laboratory during the period of the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departement of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt

    Doaa Abdelmageed El Faham & Osama Mahmoud Azmy

  2. Departement of Medical Applications, National Institute of Laser Enhanced Science, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

    Mohamed Amr Hussein Elnoury & Mona Ibraheim Morsy

  3. Departement of Pathology, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt

    Marwa Abdelmoneim El Shaer

  4. Departement of Cytogenetics, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt

    Ghada Mohammed Nour Eldin

Authors
  1. Doaa Abdelmageed El Faham
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  2. Mohamed Amr Hussein Elnoury
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  3. Mona Ibraheim Morsy
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  4. Marwa Abdelmoneim El Shaer
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  5. Ghada Mohammed Nour Eldin
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  6. Osama Mahmoud Azmy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Doaa Abdelmageed El Faham.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The study protocol was approved by the Ethical Committee of the National Research Centre.

Informed consent

A written informed consent was obtained from each woman after explanation of the purpose from the study, the steps of the procedure, and the possible complications.

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El Faham, D.A., Elnoury, M.A.H., Morsy, M.I. et al. Has the time come to include low-level laser photobiomodulation as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of impaired endometrial receptivity?. Lasers Med Sci 33, 1105–1114 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-018-2476-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-018-2476-y

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