Platelet-rich Plasma and Platelet-rich Fibrin as Potential Therapies for Experimentally Induced Rheumatoid Arthritis in Rats
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory autoimmune disorder that primarily affects the synovial joints, resulting in progressive cartilage degradation, pain, and impaired function. RA is commonly managed with pharmacological therapies, including disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, biological agents, and anti-inflammatory medications, which aim to control synovial inflammation, prevent joint damage, and preserve functional capacity. Nevertheless, biomaterials have gained increasing attention as complementary therapeutic strategies because they can provide biologically active components capable of modulating inflammation and supporting tissue repair. Autologous biomaterials, including platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF), have been investigated for their regenerative and anti-inflammatory properties, which are attributed to the release of growth factors involved in tissue repair that can be. Following approval by CEUA-FHO (10/2024), twenty-four female Wistar rats (n=24) were randomly assigned to four experimental groups (n=6 per group): Group A, control, receiving sterile saline solution; Group B, with induced arthritis; Group C, with induced arthritis and treated with PRP; and Group D, with induced arthritis and treated with PRF. Arthritis was induced in Groups B, C, and D through intra-articular administration of Zymosan (200 µg) under anesthesia with ketamine (0.3 mg/kg) and xylazine (0.1 mg/kg). PRP and PRF were prepared through consecutive centrifugation of blood collected from three additional animals, using sodium citrate and a clot activator, respectively. Three days after arthritis induction, the animals were euthanized with ketamine (0.9 mg/kg) and xylazine (0.3 mg/kg), followed by cervical dislocation. Joint tissue samples (n=6 per group) were collected and processed for immunohistochemical analysis using antibodies against C3 and iNOS. Immunoreactivity was quantified according to the number of positive cells per synovial field using ImageJ software. Statistical analysis was conducted in GraphPad Prism using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test, with a significance level of 5% (p<0.05). Significant differences in the mean ± standard deviation were observed between Groups B (1420±286.4) and A (502.2±152.3), Groups C (408.2±135.8) and B, Groups D (668.0±205.5) and B, with p<0.0001. Both PRP and PRF demonstrated comparable potential to modulate RA-associated inflammation. PRF, in particular, exhibited a notable effect on the regulation of inflammatory mediators, supporting its potential applicability as a promising therapeutic strategy.
Language: English
Subfield: Periodontics
Field: Dentistry
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7223156459