Efeitos comparativos da fotobiomodulação transcutânea local e vascular em modelo experimental de colite ulcerativa

Abstract

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic disease that primarily affects the large intestine, significantly impacting quality of life. Pharmacological treatments for UC are limited and often come with side effects. Photobiomodulation (PBM) has emerged as a potential adjunctive treatment option, which can be administered locally or systemically. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of local and vascular PBM in an experimental model of UC. Male Wistar rats were subjected to UC induction and subsequently treated or not with local or transcutaneous vascular PBM. The study evaluated myeloperoxidase enzyme activity (MPO), conducted histological analysis, assessed mast cell degranulation, and measured cytokine release. The findings indicated that local PBM reduced intestinal histological scores and MPO activity. Conversely, transcutaneous vascular PBM only reduced intestinal MPO activity. Both local and transcutaneous vascular PBM increased mucous production and decreased mast cell degranulation. Moreover, both modalities similarly modulated the levels of TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta in the intestinal homogenates. However, only local PBM affected the gene expression of IL-6, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma in the intestinal tissue. In conclusion, comparing the two treatment modalities, we can infer that local PBM appears to be more promising than transcutaneous vascular PBM for treating UC. These findings highlight the potential of local PBM as coadjuvant treatment for UC, as it exerts beneficial effects on multiple aspects of the disease. However, further research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms underlying the observed effects and to optimize the parameters of PBM for UC treatment.