Abstract

Cleft palate (CP) is a common congenital defect. It causes serious problem to cleft-affected children. The gold standard of care is autogenous bone grafting which may cause additional problems together with long and extensive medical interventions. Tissue engineering is a promising solution for a widespread range of defects and disorders. It is reasonable to utilize this novel technology for CP management. Stem cells and growth factors play essential role in tissue engineering, so we evaluate effectiveness of adipose tissue and cord blood stem cells along with platelet rich plasma (PRP) on CP reconstruction. Human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (hUCB-MNCs) and human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) were collected and incubated with Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) for labeling. The same was done to osteogenically differentiated hADSCs. Palatal bone defects were surgically made in rats. Afterwards, the labeled cells were mixed either with PRP or Aminoplasmal and injected to the defect borders. Immunohistochemistry and morphometry analysis were performed 4 weeks later. Data showed a significant difference in cleft size between cell-injected and control groups while the cleft site was filled with connective tissue rather than osseous tissue. Moreover, immunohistochemistry findings proved the presence of labeled cells in the surrounding tissue. These cells were detectable both in osseous and connective tissues. This study revealed the feasibility of stem cell and PRP application according to CP reconstruction. Hence, further investigation toward tissue engineering in CP may eliminate bone harvesting and its negative consequences.

Key words: Cleft palate, platelet-rich-plasma, cell therapy, stem cells, tissue engineering.