Effects of Platelet-Rich Plasma on Tissue Expansion in Rabbits.
BACKGROUND
Tissue expansion has been widely applied in clinic practice. However, the expanded skin is always insufficient for clinical use and how to promote tissue expansion is still a challenge. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) contains multiple tissue growth factors and has been widely utilized in hard- and soft-tissue augmentation. However, its feasibility to promote tissue expansion has not been explored. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the possible effect of PRP in tissue expansion.


METHODS
Tissue expanders were implanted in the dorsal sides of rabbit ears, and the left and right side were for the PRP group and the control group randomly. The PRP group was injected with 1.0 mL of autologous PRP in the expansion skin and the control group with the same volume of saline solution. The expanders were inflated regularly by injecting saline solution under the same pressure. After the inflation phase, the expansion skin was harvested and the inflation volume, gross specimen, and histological characteristics were assayed and evaluated.


RESULTS
The mean inflation volume of the PRP group was significantly higher than that of the control (p < 0.05). H&E staining of expanded skin sections showed more epidermal cell layers and thicker skin in the PRP group than that in the control group. There were significantly more capillaries in the expanded skin in the PRP group than those from the control group by IHC staining with its marker anti-CD31. A higher level of mRNA expression of VEGF was observed in the PRP group by real-time PCR.


CONCLUSIONS
The present study suggests that PRP plays a pivotal role in tissue expansion and skin proliferation.


METHODS
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Department of Plastic Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, 415 Fengyang Road, Shanghai, 200003, China.
Wang
W
Jinming
Department of Plastic Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, 415 Fengyang Road, Shanghai, 200003, China.
Liu
L
Caiyue
Department of Plastic Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200040, China.
Wu
W
Baojin
Department of Plastic Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, 415 Fengyang Road, Shanghai, 200003, China.
Liu
L
Antang
Department of Plastic Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, 415 Fengyang Road, Shanghai, 200003, China.
Zhang
Z
Yingfan
Department of Plastic Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, 415 Fengyang Road, Shanghai, 200003, China.
Wang
W
Hui
Department of Plastic Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, 415 Fengyang Road, Shanghai, 200003, China.
Zhu
Z
Lie
Department of Plastic Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, 415 Fengyang Road, Shanghai, 200003, China. dosjh@126.com.
Jiang
J
Hua
D000818:Animals; D062109:Dermatologic Surgical Procedures; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D053657:Platelet-Rich Plasma / Q000502:physiology; D011817:Rabbits; D012867:Skin / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D015626:Tissue Expansion / Q000379:methods*; D015625:Tissue Expansion Devices; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000096:biosynthesis*
D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
Platelet-rich plasma; Tissue expansion; Vascular endothelial growth factor