The inflammatory phase of wound healing affects the wound repair as down regulation or up
regulation result in delayed healing or scar formation. The dexamethasone is the drug of choice
as anti inflammatory, anti edematous and anti emetic in different oral and periodontal surgeries
to control post operative pain and edema, however the down regulation of inflammatory phase
may affect the wound healing. Adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs), as a part of cell therapy, and
exosomes (Exo.) , as a part of cell free therapy, revealed promising results in wound healing in
preclinical and clinical studies.
Materials and Methods: 5o rats were involved in this study. The standardized oral wound
was done by scalpel in left cheek then the animals were randomly assigned to 4 groups including
gelatin sponge group, dexamethasone group, Exo. group and ADSCs group. The animals were
sacrificed at 2,5 and 10 days of healing. The specimens were evaluated histologically (H&E) stains
and inflammatory cells were counted and statistically compared.
Results: regarding inflammatory cell counting, the dexamethasone revealed least inflammatory
infiltration followed by Exo.group then ADSCs group and finally, gelatin sponge group. All groups
showed signs of healing, However the Exo. group followed by ADSCs showed more condensed
collagen formation and increased epithelial thickness than dexamethasone and gelatin sponge
groups.
Conclusion: Exo. and ADSCs may accelerate the oral wound healing and overcome the
delayed healing that may limit the use of dexamethasone administration as anti inflammatory drug,
especially in medically comprised patients as diabetic patients.