Table 1.
The Laser Irradiation Parameters.
Figure 1.
The 3 J/cm2 and 8 J/cm2 LLLT treatments improved the sciatic functional index (SFI) in rats with a sciatic nerve crush injury.
Representative images of (A) the sham-operated rat left hindlimb and (B) the sciatic-injured rat right hindlimb. (C) Functional assessment of the recovery of injured sciatic nerves by calculating the SFI in the normal rats without (normal) or with 8 J/cm2 LLLT (normal+8J) and in the sciatic nerve-crushed rats without (crush) or with LLLT at 3 J/cm2 (crush+3J), 8 J/cm2 (crush+8J) or 15 J/cm2 (crush+15J). *P<0.05, compared with crush group.
Figure 2.
The 8 J/cm2 dosage of 808-nm laser enhanced the range of motion (ROM).
(A) Representative images show the sham-operated left rat hindlimb at mid-stance phase and (B) the sciatic-injured right rat hindlimb at mid-stance phase. (C) Functional assessment of the recovery of the injured sciatic nerve using ROM analysis by comparing the right hindlimb with the left hindlimb (ratio) in the normal rats without (normal) or with 8 J/cm2 LLLT (normal+8J) and in the sciatic nerve-crushed rats without (crush) or with LLLT at 3 J/cm2 (crush+3J), 8 J/cm2 (crush+8J) or 15 J/cm2 (crush+15J). *P<0.05, compared with the crush group.
Figure 3.
LLLT-treated (808 nm) sciatic nerve presented thicker myelin sheaths.
Representative TEM images (A) and quantitative analyses of myelin sheath thickness (B) in the sciatic nerves of sham-operated rats without (normal) or with 8 J/cm2 LLLT (normal+8J) and in the rats with sciatic nerve crush injury without (crush) or with LLLT at 3 J/cm2 (crush+3J), 8 J/cm2 (crush+8J) or 15 J/cm2 (crush+15J). #P<0.05, compared with the crush group. Scale bar, 5 um.
Figure 4.
Detection of GAP43 protein expression in rats with sciatic nerve crush injury after 808-nm LLLT treatments using western blot analysis.
Representative western blotting and quantitative analyses of GAP43 protein expression in the sciatic nerve of normal rats with 8 J/cm2 LLLT (normal+8J) and in the rats with sciatic nerve crush injury without (crush) or with LLLT at 3 J/cm2 (crush+3J), 8 J/cm2 (crush+8J) or 15 J/cm2 (crush+15J) were shown. We detected the expression of the GAP43 protein in the sciatic nerve of left sham-operated hindlimb (left normal control; N) and in the sciatic nerve of right hindlimb at the laser-treated site (T) or a distal site (D). *P<0.05, **P<0.01, compared with the left sham-operated hindlimb (left normal control; N). #P<0.05, compared with the crush group at the laser-treated site (T). &P<0.05, compared between the crush groups at the distal site (D).
Figure 5.
Detection of GAP43 expression in the sciatic nerve of 808-nm LLLT laser-treated site using immunofluorescent staining.
Groups: sham-operated rats without (normal) or with 8 J/cm2 LLLT (normal+8J) and rats with sciatic nerve crush injury without (crush) or with LLLT at 3 J/cm2 (crush+3J), 8 J/cm2 (crush+8J) or 15 J/cm2 (crush+15J). Sections were labeled with DAPI (blue), GAP43 (green) and neurofilament (red), which is specifically expressed in neurites. Original magnification: 100×. White boxes show the enlarged views with a magnification of 400×. Scale bar, 200 um.
Figure 6.
Detection of GAP43 expression in the sciatic nerve of 808-nm LLLT laser-treated distal site using immunofluorescent staining.
Groups: sham-operated rats without (normal) or with 8 J/cm2 LLLT (normal+8J) and rats with sciatic nerve crush injury without (crush) or with LLLT at 3 J/cm2 (crush+3J), 8 J/cm2 (crush+8J) or 15 J/cm2 (crush+15J). Sections were labeled with DAPI (blue), GAP43 (green) and neurofilament (red), which is specifically expressed in neurites. Original magnification: 100×. White boxes show the enlarged views with a magnification of 400×. Scale bar, 200 um.