Increased mobility and stem-cell proliferation rate in Dugesia tigrina induced by 880 nm light emitting diode

The therapeutic effects elicited by photobiostimulation in the near infrared range may be associated with increased proliferation rate of particular cell-types. The present study utilized commercial light emitting diodes to investigate the effects of low-level near-infrared radiation on the proliferation rate of stem cells in amputated planarian. Whole and amputated animals were exposed to either ambient diurnal lighting, darkness, white light, red light, or near-infrared (880 nm) light. Irradiation was consistent for the duration of the experiments and was provided using commercial 5 mm light emitting diodes (∼1.0 mW/m2 in power density and ∼0.01 J/cm2 in radiant exposure). Compared to other groups amputated planarian exposed to near-infrared displayed increased mobility by the 3rd day of exposure (F(4,26) = 4.31, p < 0.04, η2 = 41%). Higher densities of stem cells were measured in these worms 84 h post injury (F(4,72) = 4.78, p < 0.01, η2 = 21%). These findings suggest that non-coherent light sources with power-densities about 1000 times lower than contemporary low-power laser settings remain effective in generating photobiostimulation effects and warrants further investigation on stem-cell proliferation induced by near-infrared light emitting diodes.