Eduardo O. C. Padula; Anneliese Fortuna-Costa; Francisco J. B. Sampaio & Bianca M. Gregorio

Summary

Bone fracture healing is a complex regenerative process that aims to restore damaged bone to its pre-injury state. To date, no natural substance has been described that accelerates and/or promotes bone consolidation. Transfer factor (TF), by acting on the immune system, may have benefits in this type of injury, as it can modulate the post-fracture inflammatory response. So, we aimed to investigate the histological effects promoted by oral ingestion of TF on the bone consolidation process in adult rats. Adult Wistar rats were divided into two groups: control (C, n=10) and transfer factor (TF), which were followed for two (C2 and TF2) and six weeks (C6 and TF6) post-fracture. Both groups had fractured tibias and received, by gavage, water, or TF, respectively. Body mass and food intake were monitored weekly and daily, respectively. At the end of these times, the animals were euthanized, and the tibias were removed for histomorphometric analysis. Data were analyzed using Student's t-test. Body mass did not differ between the groups, although the food intake of the TF2 group was lower than that of the C2 group. The density of the mature bone matrix was higher in the TF2 and TF6 groups when compared to the respective controls. In the groups two weeks post-fracture (TF2 and C2) there was no difference in the densities of chondrocytes, vessels, and cartilaginous and intermediate bone matrices. In contrast, the TF6 group showed a reduction in the densities of cartilaginous, intermediate bone matrix and vessels when compared to C6. Chondrocyte density was not different. Treatment with TF showed positive results in bone consolidation, and can be an adjuvant in the treatment of bone consolidation, as well as in preventing the delay in this process. KEY WORDS: Transfer factor; Fracture healing; Rats; Bone regeneration.

How to cite this article

PADULA, E. O. C.; FORTUNA-COSTA, A.; SAMPAIO, F. J. B. & GREGORIO, B.M. Oral intake of transfer factor accelerates bone consolidation in adult Wistar rats. Int. J. Morphol., 43(2):535-540, 2025.