Laser modulation of human immune system: inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation by a gallium-arsenide laser at low energy.

Cultured human lymphocytes were subjected to irradiation with a gallium-arsenide laser at energy fluence varying from 2.17 to 651 mJ/cm2, and the cell proliferation was assessed by [3H]thymidine incorporation. Both mitogenic proliferation in response to phytohemagglutinin and spontaneous cell proliferation were markedly inhibited by the laser irradiation at energy fluence as low as 10.85 mJ/cm2. Similarly, the functional response of cells to antigen stimulation in a one-way mixed-lymphocyte reaction was also diminished as a result of laser irradiation. The results indicate that laser irradiation at low energy can interfere with immune system in vitro, and similar modulation could potentially occur in human subjects exposed to laser irradiation in vivo.