ABSTRACT
Abstract Objective To explore the feasibility of injectable platelet-rich fibrin (i-PRF) in regenerative endodontics by comparing the effect of i-PRF and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) on the biological behavior and angiogenesis of human stem cells from the apical papilla (SCAPs). Methodology i-PRF and PRF were obtained from venous blood by two different centrifugation methods, followed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was conducted to quantify the growth factors. SCAPs were cultured with different concentrations of i-PRF extract (i-PRFe) and PRF extract (PRFe), and the optimal concentrations were selected using the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. The cell proliferation and migration potentials of SCAPs were then observed using the CCK-8 and Transwell assays. Mineralization ability was detected by alizarin red staining (ARS), and angiogenesis ability was detected by tube formation assay. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was performed to evaluate the expression of genes related to mineralization and angiogenesis. The data were subjected to statistical analysis. Results i-PRF and PRF showed a similar three-dimensional fibrin structure, while i-PRF released a higher concentration of growth factors than PRF ( P <.05). 1/4× i-PRFe and 1/4× PRFe were selected as the optimal concentrations. The cell proliferation rate of the i-PRFe group was higher than that of the PRFe group ( P <.05), while no statistical difference was observed between them in terms of cell mitigation ( P >.05). More importantly, our results showed that i-PRFe had a stronger effect on SCAPs than PRFe in facilitating mineralization and angiogenesis, with the consistent result of RT-qPCR ( P <.05). Conclusion This study revealed that i-PRF released a higher concentration of growth factors and was superior to PRF in promoting proliferation, mineralization and angiogenesis of SCAPs, which indicates that i-PRF could be a promising biological scaffold for application in pulp regeneration.
ABSTRACT
The therapeutic effects of anluohuaxian tablet combined with γ-IFN on schistosomal liver fibrosis and its mechanism were studied in a murine model and clinical cases of schistosomal liver fibrosis.Fifty Kunming mice were randomly divided into 5 groups:normal control group,infection control group,anluohuaxian tablet-treated group,γ-IFN-treated group and combined treatment (anluohuaian tablet+γ-IFN) group.Pathologic changes in liver,including hepatic pigmentation and the size of schistosomal egg granuloma,were observed by HE staining after treatment for 8 weeks.The expression of the type Ⅰ and Ⅲ collagen,and TIMP-1 was detected by immunohistochemistry.TGF-β1 mRNA expression was examined by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR.Sixty patients with schistosomal liver fibrosis were divided into treatment group and control group.The patients in treatment group were treated with anluohuaxian tablet in combination with γ-IFN for 6 months.Be-fore and after treatment,the changes of symptoms and signs,liver function,serum liver fibrosis in-dexes and imaging indexes were observed.The results showed that as compared with infection con-trol group,all forms of treatments relieved the hepatic pathological injury with apparently diminished size of schistosomal egg nodules and decreased percentage of pigmentation (P<0.05).Furthermore,the expression of collagen Ⅰ and Ⅲ,TIMP-Ⅰ,and TGF-β1 mRNA in combined treatment group was significantly decreased as compared with anluohuaxian tablet-treated and γ-IFN-treated groups (P<0.05).In the clinical observation,the serum liver fibrosis indexes,the portal vein width as well as the spleen thickness was significantly reduced in treatment group as compared with control group (P<0.05).It was concluded that the combined use of anluohuaxian tablet with γ-IFN in schistosomal liver fibrosis could protect liver function,alleviate liver fibrosis,and could be used as a choice in treating patients with schiatosomal liver fibrosis.