The effect of L-PRF membranes on bone healing in rabbit tibiae bone defects: micro-CT and biomarker results

Abstract

More insight into the biological fundamentals of leukocyte platelet-rich fibrin (L-PRF) guided healing is necessary to recommend its application, in particular in deficient bone sites that need to support implants. This study investigated the short-term bone healing effect of L-PRF treatment in cylindrical non-critical sized bone defects with 3 mm diameter and 6 mm depth in tibiae of 18 adult male New Zealand White rabbits. After a randomization process, 96 bone defects were prepared and half of them were filled with a L-PRF membrane, while untreated defects in the opposite tibia served as control group. The rabbits were euthanized after 7, 14 or 28 days of healing. The bone healing of the cortical and medullary areas was investigated by micro-CT, while the expression of molecular markers (RUNX2, VEGFA, COL1A2 and BMP2) was assessed by qRT-PCR. Treatment with L-PRF did not affect the micro-structural bone characteristics of the repaired bone tissue, except for a decrease in the trabecular connectivity at the cortical level after 14 days of healing. At this time, RUNX2 and VEGFA mRNA levels were significantly lower in the treated defects. L-PRF membranes thus had a temporary negative influence on the bone microarchitecture (Tb.Pf) and on the RUNX2 and VEGFA expression during early bone healing. Overall, L-PRF treatment did not enhance bone regeneration in these non-critical size defects after 28 days.

Efficacy of Autologous Leucocyte-Platelet-rich Fibrin (L-PRF) versus Hydroxyapatite as a Graft Material for Socket Healing after Surgical Extraction of Impacted Mandibular Third Molars: A Comparative Clinical and Radiographic study

“…According to Wang and Tao, L-PRF had an effect on proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts; this was shown histologically in the rat used in their study, this was significantly showed radiographically in our study. In contrast to our study Faot., et al (26) found that the L-PRF did not enhance bone tissue repair in rabbit tibia during 4 weeks experiment but our results are similar to Kim., et al (27) that they found that the addition of L-PRF, in the bone defect in the rabbit skull, increased the bone formation at the 6th week The positive results of PRF could be attributed to mitogenic response in the periosteum under the influence of growth factors released from the platelets entangled within fibrin matrix.…”

Bone Regeneration in Peri-Implant Defect Using Autogenous Tooth Biomaterial Enriched with Platelet-Rich Fibrin in Animal Model

“…Similar results were observed in another study, where platelet-rich fibrin did not increase bone regeneration in non-critical size defects in rabbit tibia. The authors suggested that this may be partially due to difficulty in retention of PRF at the defect site because of the anatomy of the tibia [40]. The differences in the biology and physiology can also affect the outcomes.…”

Effects of leukocyte‐ and platelet‐rich fibrin associated or not with bovine bone graft on the healing of bone defects in rats with osteoporosis induced by ovariectomy

“…Therefore, it is difficult to correlate the findings obtained in the present study with those described in the literature. However, it should be noted that clinical and preclinical studies that assessed the effects of L‐PRF on bone regeneration show contradictory results (Oliveira et al, ; Potres et al, ; Lekovic et al, ; Tanaka et al, ; Faot et al, ; Jeong et al, ; Zhang et al, ). One of the explanations for these discrepancies could be related to the L‐PRF preparation protocol.…”