Inorganic Bovine-derived Hydroxyapatite Matrix/P15 Protein as a Bone Graft Substitute for Periodontal Defect Repair of Wistar Rats Model - Wenhua Xu; Lifen Yin; Meilu Zhou; Xiaoliang Luo (Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 2026)
This study was developed to evaluate efficacy of inorganic bovine-derived hydroxyapatite matrix (ABM) plus P15 protein (ABM/P15) as a bone graft material for periodontal defect repair in a rat model. Fresh bovine-derived bone (BDB) served as raw material, and single solvent method was adopted to obtain ABM. The acquisition of ABM from BDB powder was evaluated at different heating temperatures. After dissolving, P15 was added to ABM, and the ABM/P15 composite material was obtained through mixing, heating, and drying processes. Molecular structure and elemental compositions were analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), respectively. Furthermore, 30 male Wistar rats were selected to establish a periodontal disease (PD) model and were randomly assigned to a control group (PD repaired with ABM) and an observation group (PD repaired with ABM/P15), with 15 rats in each. Bone regeneration status was analyzed employing micro-CT 3D reconstruction at postoperative 1, 2, and 3 months. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining visualized the morphological changes in periodontal tissues. Additionally, inflammatory cell changes were detected by Masson’s trichrome (MT) staining, and cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-3 (caspase-3) and B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) levels were examined by western blotting. FT-IR analysis showed consistent molecular structures of ABM, synthetic hydroxyapatite, and ABM/P15. XRD results revealed that ABM/P15 exhibited a weak crystalline state. The periodontal tissue recovery in the observation group was markedly better than in the control group at 1, 2, and 3 months’ post-surgery, with the bone regeneration height (ABRH) being notably higher in the observation group (P≤0.05). H&E and MT staining results revealed that the inflammatory reactions in the control group remained higher than that in the observation group at various time points. Western blotting analysis showed no statistically significant differences in caspase-3 and Bcl-2 expression levels in the periodontal tissue between control and observation rats at 1, 2, and 3 months’ post-surgery (P>0.05). ABM/P15 composite material effectively promotes periodontal tissue regeneration in an animal PD model, without inducing significant inflammatory reactions, demonstrating good animal experimental outcomes and safety.
Keywords: journal article; Inorganic bovine-derived hydroxyapatite matrix; P15 protein; periodontal defect; rat model