Evaluation of the Effect of Platelet Rich Plasma on Wound Healing in the Tongue of Normal and Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Albino Rats: Histological, Immunohistochemical, and Ultrastructural Study

Background: Delayed healing of diabetic wounds has been well-documented. Currently, the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has attracted great attention in many medical fields including wound healing. Aim: Histological, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural evaluation of the effect of PRP on wound healing in the tongue of normal and Streptozotocin-induced diabetic albino rats. Methodology: A total number of 108 adult male albino rats with average weight 200gm, were used in the study. The animals were classified into two main groups: non-diabetic and diabetic groups. Each group was further divided into three subgroups: non- treated wound, PRP-treatment before wound, and PRP-treatment after wound. Tongue specimens were dissected on postoperative days 1, 3, and 7. The specimens were examined histologically by H&E, immunohistochemically by p63 and vimentin, and ultra-structurally by TEM. Results:  The most accelerated wound healing was revealed in the subgroups treated with PRP before the wound, whether non-diabetic or diabetic, which occurred very early at the 3rd day postoperative in both cases. While complete wound healing was revealed at the 7th day postoperative in both the non-diabetic and diabetic subgroups treated with PRP after the wound, which was like the non-diabetic control subgroup. Whilst, the diabetic non-treated subgroup only showed partial wound healing at the 7th day postoperative. Conclusion: A single injection of PRP could be used as a prophylactic to prevent expected impaired wound healing in diabetic oral mucosal wounds and to enhance wound healing in non-diabetic wounds. PRP could be used as a therapeutic to enhance wound healing in diabetic and non-diabetic oral mucosal wounds. Key Words: platelet rich plasma, wound healing, diabetes, rat, tongue, p63, vimentin, TEM BACKGROUND: Delayed healing of diabetic wounds has been well-documented. At present, the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has attracted great attention in many medical fields including wound healing. AIM: Histological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural evaluation of the effect of PRP on wound healing in the tongue of normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic albino rats. METHODOLOGY: A total number of 108 adult male albino rats with average weight 200 g were used in the study. The animals were classified into two main groups: Non-diabetic and diabetic groups. Each group was further divided into three subgroups: Non-treated wound, PRP-treatment before wound, and PRP-treatment after wound. Tongue specimens were dissected on post-operative days 1, 3, and 7. The specimens were examined histologically by H&E, immunohistochemically by p63 and vimentin, and ultrastructurally by TEM. RESULTS: The most accelerated wound healing was revealed in the subgroups treated with PRP before the wound, whether non-diabetic or diabetic, which occurred very early at the 3rd day post-operative in both cases. While complete wound healing was revealed at the 7th day post-operative in both the non-diabetic and diabetic subgroups treated with PRP after the wound, which was like the non-diabetic control subgroup. While, the diabetic non-treated subgroup only showed partial wound healing at the 7th day post-operative. CONCLUSION: A single injection of PRP could be used as a prophylactic to prevent expected impaired wound healing in diabetic oral mucosal wounds and to enhance wound healing in non-diabetic wounds. PRP could be used as a therapeutic to enhance wound healing in diabetic and non-diabetic oral mucosal wounds.