Effects of silver nanoparticle and low-level laser on the immune response and healing of albino mice skin wounds

Abstract

The structural integrity of the skin, which acts as a barrier to keep harmful external substances out of the body, is compromised by wounds. The process of wound healing is a multifaceted and ever-changing phenomenon that entails the replacement of bodily tissues or damaged skin. It has been demonstrated that nanoparticles, especially silver nanoparticles, have anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory qualities that encourage cell migration and proliferation. Low level laser therapy has the potential to accelerate wound healing by stimulating cell regeneration after injury, reducing pain, and modulating the immune system. The aim of our study is to evaluate the healing process after treatment with silver nanoparticle and/or low level laser by measuring the serum levels of some pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL1b, IL6, and TNF-α), wound healing rate and histological analysis. Wounds were inflicted into 63 adult male albino mice (Mus musculus) and randomly divided into nine groups (7 per each). Control was left to normal healing. Other groups received a different treatment with laser, silver nanoparticle or both for 21 days. Injured skin was sampled for histopathological examination. Quantitative determination of TNFα, IL1 beta and IL6 were carried out using the sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) twice (day 2 and day 21). One-way and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for statistical analysis. The results showed that the groups treated with silver nanoparticles and / or low-level laser promoted wound healing by reducing pro- inflammatory cytokines (IL1β, IL6 and TNFα) and showed significantly better wound closure with a significant reduction in wound size. At day 2 histopathological changes were very similar in different groups. When silver nanoparticles were applied, either alone or in combination with laser exposure, better granulation tissue and fibrosis also necrosis in the canter of the lesion and high score of re-epithelialization with less inflammation observed gradually till day 21. The results of this study suggested that silver nanoparticles and low-level laser have a wound healing potential, since topical treatment with silver nanoparticles and low-level leasers has effectively improved the wound healing process.