Figure 3.

Effects of PRP on morphological recovery of regenerated nerves in rabbits with sciatic nerve injury.

(A) Images of myelinated nerve fibers using toluidine blue staining. The percentage of myelinated nerve fibers in the medium- and high-concentration PRP groups was higher than that in the model and low-concentration PRP groups. Black arrows indicate myelinated nerve fibers. Scale bars: 20 μm. (B) Immunofluorescent staining of the NEFH (NF; green, stained by fluorescein isothiocyanate, white arrows). The presence of neurofilaments in the medium- and high-concentration PRP groups was significantly higher than that in the model and low-concentration PRP groups. Scale bars: 20 μm. (C) Myelin sheaths of regenerated nerves observed by transmission electron microscopy. The white arrows indicate myelinated nerve fibers. Scale bars: 2 μm. (D) Lamellar structure of myelin sheaths. The thickness of the myelin sheath in the medium- and high-concentration PRP groups was greater than that in the model and low-concentration PRP groups. Scale bars: 100 nm. (E–G) Quantitative results of the percentage of myelinated nerve fibers (E), integral optical density of the neurofilament (F), and thickness of the myelin sheath (G). Data in E and F are presented as means ± SD (n = 7) and were analyzed by Tukey’s multiple comparison test. Data in G are presented as median and 95% confidence interval (n = 7) and were analyzed by Tukey’s multiple comparison test. **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001. NEFH: Neurofilament heavy protein; NF: neurofilament; ns: not significant; PRP: platelet-rich plasma.