Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive disease characterized by irreversible airflow limitation, airway inflammation and remodeling, and enlargement of alveolar spaces. COPD is in the top five leading causes of deaths worldwide and presents a high economic cost. However, there are some preventive measures to lower the risk of developing COPD. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is a new effective therapy, with very low cost and no side effects. So, our objective was to investigate if LLLT reduces pulmonary alterations in an experimental model of COPD. C57BL/6 mice were submitted to cigarette smoke for 75 days (2x/day). After 60 days to smoke exposure, the treated group was submitted to LLLT (diode laser, 660 nm, 30 mW, and 3 J/cm2) for 15 days and euthanized for morphologic and functional analysis of the lungs. Our results showed that LLLT significantly reduced the number of inflammatory cells and the proinflammatory cytokine secretion such as IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). We also observed that LLLT decreased collagen deposition as well as the expression of purinergic P2X7 receptor. On the other hand, LLLT increased the IL-10 release. Thus, LLLT can be pointed as a promising therapeutic approach for lung inflammatory diseases as COPD.

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Objective: To study the effectiveness of human tubal Estromal Stem Cells (htESCs) therapy by intra-nasal or intra-peritoneal route in experimental cigarette smoke-induced emphysema in C57BL/6 mice. Design: To achieve that, C57BL/6 mice were exposed to cigarette smoke for 75 days (2 times / day) and received or not two doses of htMSCS either intraperitoneally or intranasally. Experiments were performed on day 76th. Materials and Methods: Briefly, brochoalveolar lavage fluid was obtained and either used to measure cytokine secretion or inflammatory infiltrate. Moreover, lung tissue was also submitted to imunohistochemistry for the transcription factors NF-AT and NF-kB and also IL-10. Results: Our results clearly show that htMSCs greatly reduced lung inflammation, with decreased cellular infiltrate of T CD4 and T CD8 lymphocytes, which was confirmed by reduced NF-AT staining in lung tissues. This was associated with reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion, as TNF-a, IL-1b and IL-6, less mucus and collagen deposition, and interestingly, increased IL-10. Conclusion: Altogether, our data indicate that therapy with htMSCs for the treatment of emphysematous disease may be a promising clinical approach. Moreover, intranasal route is also effective, and must taken in consideration due to its lack of invasiveness.

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