Combination treatment of dendrosomal nanocurcumin and low-level laser therapy develops proliferation and migration of mouse embryonic fibroblasts and alter TGF-β, VEGF, TNF-α and IL-6 expressions involved in wound healing process

Pressure ulcer (PU) is known as the third most costly disorder usually caused by prolonged pressure and stagnation in various parts of the body. Although several therapeutic approaches are employing, obstacles in appropriate healing for skin lesions still exist which necessitates new practical alternative or adjunctive treatments. Low level laser therapy (LLLT) as one of the mentioned new strategies have gained attention. Besides, curcumin is an herbal medicine extracted from turmeric with anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties with promising beneficial therapeutic effects in wound healing. Employing dendrosomal nanoparticles, we overcome the hydrophobicity of curcumin in the present study. We hypothesized that combination treatment of DNC+LLLT (450 nm) simultaneously may promote the wound healing process. MTT assay, PI staining followed by flowcytometry, scratch assay and intracellular ROS measurement were used to investigate the effects caused by DNC and LLLT (450 nm) alone and in combination, on proliferation, cell cycle, migration and oxidative stress mouse embryonic fibroblast cells, respectively. The levels of growth factors and pro-inflammatory cytokines were evaluated by qRT-PCR and ELISA. Our results indicated that combination exposure with DNC and LLLT leads to increased proliferation and migration of MEFs as well as being more efficient in significantly upregulating growth factors (TGF-β, VEGF) and decline in inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6). Moreover, findings of this research provide persuasive support for the notion that DNC could reduce the LLLT-induced enhancement in intracellular ROS in mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Concurrent exposure to anti-oxidant concentrations of DNC and LLLT enriched S phase entry and therefor increased proliferation as well as migration on MEFs through regulating the expression levels growth factors and shortening the inflammatory phase by modulating of cytokines. It should be noted that DNC were able to reduce the laser-induced oxidative stress, during wound healing, representing an informative accompaniment with LLLT.