Platelet-rich Plasma (PRP) in the Treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcers and its Regulation of Autophagy

Objective: Through clinical trials, this study observes the therapeutic effect of platelet-rich plasma (platelet-rich plasma, PRP) on diabetic foot ulcers and explored the relationship between the relationship between PRP and autophagy. Methods: Thirty patients with diabetic foot ulcer who met the relevant criteria were randomly divided into PRP treatment group and control group. In the PRP treatment group, the formed PRP gel was coated and bandaged on the diabetic foot ulcer wound, and the PRP treatment was repeated on the seventh day. The control group was covered with normal saline sterile gauze. Observe the healing rate of the wound in 7 days, 14 days and 21 days, the pain in 5 consecutive days and the healing time of the wound after treatment, collect wound granulation tissues before and twenty-first days after treatment then detect the expression of autophagy-related proteins (LC-3, P62) and inflammatory factors (IL-6, IL-10) in diabetic foot ulcer wound to investigate the potential relationship between PRP treatment of diabetic foot ulcers and autophagy and inflammatory responses. Results: The wound healing rate of diabetic foot ulcer patients in the PRP treatment group was higher than that in the control group on the seventh, 14th and 21st days, the healing time (31.40 ± 4.47) was better than that in the control group (43.20 ± 5.03) days, and the pain improvement was better than that in the control group ( P < .05). The results of Western blot analysis and quantitative PCR of autophagy-related proteins (LC-3 and p62) in granulation tissue showed that the values of LC3 and LC3-II/LC3-I and the expression of LC3 gene in wound granulation tissue of PRP group were significantly higher than those before treatment ( P < .05). The value and gene expression of P62 protein were lower than those before treatment ( P < .05). In the control group, there was no significant difference in LC3 and P62 protein gray level and gene expression before and after treatment ( P > .05). The level of autophagy in the wound of PRP group increased after treatment, while there was no statistical significance in the control group. The results of ELISA showed that the concentration of IL-6 in granulation tissue of the PRP treatment group was lower than that before treatment ( P < .05), while there was no significant difference in IL-6 in the control group after treatment. The concentration of IL-10 increased in both groups after treatment, but the concentration in PRP group was higher than that in control group ( P < .05). Conclusions: This study shows that PRP gel has advantages in accelerating wound healing, relieving pain, shortening healing time and reducing inflammatory response in treating diabetic foot ulcers wound, which may be related to autophagy, and provides new ideas for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers.