Regeneration of partially resected rat submandibular salivary gland using its extracted conditioned media

Abstract Introduction Salivary glands produce saliva that is essential for having proper quality of life. Surgical removal of part of the gland usually occurs in different cases as in gland tumors. This causes irreversible atrophy to the gland parenchyma. Aim We aimed to evaluate the effect of using conditioned media (CM) prepared from the submandibular salivary gland (SMG) of albino rats on the regeneration of partially dissected SMG in albino rats. Materials and methods Thirty eight pathogen-free albino rats were used. Fourteen rats were used for the preparation of SMG-CM and fibrin glue and the rest were divided equally into four groups negative control group (group I), positive control group (group II) in which SMGs were subjected to partial dissection and received no treatment, fibrin glue group (group III) in which the glandular defect was filled with autologous fibrin glue, and fibrin glue and CM group (group IV) in which the glandular defect was injected with SMG-CM then filled with fibrin glue. Three animals from each group were euthanized after 1 and 2 weeks. Half of the glands were prepared for light microscopic investigations and the other half of glands were prepared for transmission electron microscope investigations. Results Both light microscopic and transmission electron microscope results showed almost normal appearance in group I. In group II, the gland showed atrophy and loss of the gland architecture with formation of granulation tissue in both intervals. In group III, the gland firstly showed loss of the gland architecture in the defect area with formation of granulation tissue then newly formed small serous acini that were widely separated with better organization of tissue occurred during follow up intervals. In group IV, the gland showed signs of early regeneration of the parenchymal elements, connective tissue and vasculature with almost normal architecture at the end of the follow up intervals. Conclusion Regeneration of parenchymal elements is significantly improved in SMG-CM with autologous fibrin glue-treated rats in comparison with rats that received no treatment or treated with fibrin glue only.