Evaluation of the angiogenic potential of the Platelets-rich Plasma (PRP) on the suspensory ligament of the fetlock of equine

• Grant number: 13/25280-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2014
• End date: October 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Clinics and Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Ana Liz Garcia Alves
• Grantee: Gustavo Gonçalves Parisi
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) has been used as a catalyst regarding the healing of many tissues, as the epithelial, muscular, osseous, tendinous, ligamentous and chondral. The PRP can be used in many types of tissues and cell groups, presenting a healing and angiogenic effect, it also increases cell migration and differentiation. It's rich in growth factors, besides its anti-inflammatory and analgesic aspects, which all together are very convenient for the treatment of ligament injuries. The use of this biocompound is staccato in athlete horses, considering that in those animals the ligament injuries are very common and seriously undertake their performance. The PRP has a relatively low cost, and is easy to obtain and use, though its effectiveness is still questioned. Considering the aspects above, this project has as an objective evaluate the angiogenic effects of the PRP in the ligamentous tissue in vivo. The PRP will be applied in the suspensory ligament of the fetlock of healthy equine which will be submitted to ultrasonographic, power Doppler, histopathologic, and immunohistochemistry evaluations. The last two will be made with ligamentous tissue samples obtained by biopsy, 30 days after the application to verify if there is neovascularization in the tested tissue.