High fluence laser irradiation induces reactive oxygen species generation in human lung adenocarcinoma cells

Low-power laser irradiation (LPLI) has been used for therapies such as curing spinal cord injury, healing wound et al. Yet, the mechanism of LPLI remains unclear. Our previous study showed that low fluences laser irradiation induces human lung adenocarcinoma cells (ASTC-a-1) proliferation, but high fluences induced apoptosis and caspase-3 activation. In order to study the mechanism of apoptosis induced by high fluences LPLI further, we have measured the dynamics of generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) using H(2)DCFDA fluorescence probes during this process. ASTC-a-1 cells apoptosis was induced by He-Ne laser irradiation at high fluence of 120J/cm(2). A confocal laser scanning microscope was used to perform fluorescence imaging. The results demonstrated that high fluence LPLI induced the increase of mitochondria ROS. Our studies contribute to clarify the biological mechanism of high fluence LPLI-induced cell apoptosis.