ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Oral ulceration is one of the most common debilitating condition that affects the oral cavity. In this study, the effect of locally injected platelet rich plasma (PRP) and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on the healing of oral ulcer was investigated. METHODS AND RESULTS: An ulcer was induced in buccal mucosa of rats by using 5mm biopsy punch followed by application of cotton swab soaked with formocresol for 60sec. The ulcer was left untreated in the control group, treated with intralesional injection of PRP, or isolated cultured BMSCs. Data were analyzed clinically, histologically and immunohistologically on day 3, 5, 7 and 10. BMSCs group showed smaller ulcer area throughout the whole experimental period than the other groups with complete resolution of the ulcer on day 10, unlike the control group. However, there was no significant difference with PRP, on day 5, 7 and 10, regarding clinical ulcer size. BMSCs group showed better histological results regarding the rate of epithelial cell migration, the number of inflammatory cells, thickness and organization of collagen fibres and the number of blood vessels, with complete re-epithelization on day 10. BMSCs group showed a greater number of anti-PCNA positive nuclei throughout the whole experimental period than the other groups except on day 5, PRP had higher mean numbers of anti-PCNA positive nuclei in both tissues. CONCLUSIONS: Both PRP and BMSCs accelerate wound healing and enhance the quality of the healing tissue with the latter being slightly more effective and faster.