Low-level light treatment ameliorates immune thrombocytopenia.

Jingke Yang,Tingting Dong,Qi Zhang,Mei X Wu,Peiyu Li

doi:10.1038/srep38238

Jingke Yang, Tingting Dong + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/srep38238

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Abstract

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an immune-mediated acquired bleeding disorder characterized by abnormally low platelet counts. We reported here the ability of low-level light treatment (LLLT) to alleviate ITP in mice. The treatment is based on noninvasive whole body illumination 30 min a day for a few consecutive days by near infrared light (830 nm) transmitted by an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LLLT significantly lifted the nadir of platelet counts and restored tail bleeding time when applied to two passive ITP models induced by anti-CD41 antibody. The anti-platelet antibody hindered megakaryocyte differentiation from the progenitors, impaired proplatelet and platelet formation, and induced apoptosis of platelets. These adverse effects of anti-CD41 antibody were all mitigated by LLLT to varying degrees, owing to its ability to enhance mitochondrial biogenesis and activity in megakaryocytes and preserve mitochondrial functions in platelets in the presence of the antibody. The observations argue not only for contribution of mitochondrial stress to the pathology of ITP, but also clinical potentials of LLLT as a safe, simple, and cost-effective modality of ITP.

Highlights

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune hemorrhagic disorder, characterized by a transient or persistent decline of circulating platelets and the absence of other conditions known to induce thrombocytopenia
Continuous level light treatment (LLLT) daily greatly prevented a loss of platelets and sustained platelet counts above 60% of the control, whereas the mice remained severely thrombocytopenic in ITP+sham
The current investigation demonstrates the ability of LLLT to alleviate thrombocytopenia in two ITP mouse models[25], which are different from the one we recently tested[18]

Summary

Introduction

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune hemorrhagic disorder, characterized by a transient or persistent decline of circulating platelets and the absence of other conditions known to induce thrombocytopenia. The mice were treated with either sham light or 830-nm LED at 36 J/cm[2] in 4 hours after anti-CD41 antibody injection and the similar LLLT continued once a day up to 5 days.

Results

Conclusion