Abstract:To study the impact of 5-aminolevulinic acid based photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) on proliferation of fibroblasts from keloid and its mechanism for guiding the use of ALA-PDT treating keloid in clinic. Methods Fibroblasts from patients' keloid were primarily cultured, then those cells without significant difference in growth state were divided into control group, PBS group and 6 ALA groups. Each group received PDT of 635 nm light emitting diode (LED) laser irradiation. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) was used to detect the suppressive rate of ALA-PDT on the proliferation of the fibroblasts. RT-PCR and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein levels of Collagen III. Results Compared with the control and PBS groups, ALA-PDT inhibited the proliferation of fibroblasts and the suppressive rate was gradually enhanced with the increase of the ALA concentration. When the concentration of ALA was 0.500 mmol/L, the inhibition was the strongest. The levels of CollagenⅢ mRNA and protein were decreased with the increase of the ALA concentration, and the levels of CollagenⅢ mRNA and protein were the lowest when the concentration of ALA was 0.500 mmol/L. Conclusions ALA-PDT could inhibit the proliferation of fibroblasts from keloid and the inhibition would be the strongest at the ALA concentration of 0.500 mmol/L. The mechanism may be associated with the suppression of the synthesis of CollagenⅢ in scar fibroblasts.