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International Institute of Biophysics |
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 Biophotonik |
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Hugo J. Niggli a.b*
a BioFoton AG, rte. d'Essert 27, CH-1733 Treyvaux, Switzerland,
Phone/Fax: ++41-26-4131445
b Department of Obstetrics, Laboratory of Oxidative Stress and Aging, University Hospital, CHUV, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
*Address for correspondence : BioFoton AG, P.O. Box 28, CH-1731 Ependes, Switzerland
E-mail:biofoton@mail.swissonline.ch
Photons participate in many atomic and molecular interactions and changes. Recent biophysical research has dedected ultraweak photons or biophotonic emission in biological tissue. It is now established that plants, animal and human cells emit a very weak radiation which can be readily detected with an appropriate photomultiplier system [1-4]. Although the emission is extremely low in mammalian cells, it can be efficiently induced in these cultures by ultraviolet light [5]. Photons in the visible range are coupled with radical reactions while photons in the UV are linked with the DNA as the source. In the last years, we developped a cell culture model for biophotonic measurements using fibroblastic differentiation in order to test the growth stimulation efficiency of bovine bone growth factor [6-12]. In present studies, it was found that the yield of ultraweak photon emission depended on the temperature of photonic measurement. The ultraweak photon emission of medium was significantly higher at 37° C than at 25° C while with cells in the medium no clear distinction could be determined. In view that fibroblasts play an essential role in skin aging, skin carcinogenesis and wound healing, the biophotonic model using the fibroblastic differentiation system provides to be a new and powerful non-invasive tool for the development of skin science. Its high sensitivity can be applied in all fields of skin research, in investigating skin abnormalities and in testing the effect of such products as regenerative, anti-aging and UV-light protective agents.
References
[1] A.G. Gurwitsch, S. Grabje and S. Salkind, Die Natur des spezifischen Erregers der Zellteilung. Arch. Entw. Mech. 100 (1923) 11-40.
[2] Niggli, H.J., Ultraweak photons emitted by cells: biophotons, J. Photochem. Photobiol. B: Biol 14 (1992), 144-146.
[3] F.A. Popp, K.-H. Li and Q. Gu (1992) Recent Advances in Biophoton Research and its Application, World-Scientific, Singapore.
[4] J.J Chang, J. Fisch and F.A. Popp (1998) Biophotons, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston.
[5] H.J. Niggli, Artificial sunlight irradiation induces ultraweak photon emission in human skin fibroblasts, J. Photochem. Photobiol. B: Biol. 18 (1993) 281-285.
[6] K. Bayreuther, H.P. Rodemann, R. Hommel, K. Dittman, M. Albiez and P.I. Francz, Human skin fibroblasts in vitro differentiate along a terminal cell lineage, Proc. natl. Acad. Sci., USA 85 (1988) 5112-1516.
[7] H.J. Niggli and P.I. Francz, May ultraviolet light-induced ornithine decarboxylase response in mitotic and postmitotic human skin fibroblasts serve as a marker of aging and differentiation? Age 15 (1992) 55-60.
[8] H.J. Niggli, Aphidicolin inhibits excision repair of UV-induced pyrimidine photodimers in low serum cultures of mitotic and mitomycin C-induced postmitotic human skin fibroblasts, Mut. Res. 295 (1993) 125-133.
[9] H.J. Niggli and Lee A. Applegate, Glutathione response after UVA irradiation in mitotic and postmitotic human skin fibroblasts and keratinocytes, Photochem. Photobiol. 65 (1997) 680-684.
[10] H.J. Niggli, The cell nucleus of cultured melanoma cells as a source of ultraweak photon emission, Naturwissenschaften 83 (1996) 41-44.
[11] L.A. Applegate, C. Scaletta, R. Panizzon, H. Niggli and E. Frenk , In vivo induction of pyrimidine dimers in human skin by UVA radiation: Initiation of cell damage and/or intercellular communication?, Int. J. of Molecular Medicine 3 (1999), 467-472.
[12] H.J. Niggli, C. Scaletta, Y. Yu, F.-A. Popp and Lee A. Applegate, Ultraweak photon emission in assessing bone growth factor efficiency using fibroblastic differentiation, J. Photochem. Photobiol. B: Biol., in press.
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