Abstract
Activated platelet-rich plasma (PRP), also referred to as platelet-rich fibrin (PRF),
has been used to augment numerous techniques of cartilage repair in the knee but does
not always result in superior quality of repair tissue. One possible reason that PRF
does not consistently result in excellent cartilage regeneration is the transiency
of growth factor provision with PRF. The objective of this study was to compare the
release of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 from PRF and from PRP combined with
a novel chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycan (CS-GAG) gel. PRP was prepared from
nine healthy dogs and split into two aliquots: one activated with bovine thrombin
and calcium chloride (CaCl2) to form PRF and the other aliquot was used to rehydrate a lyophilized CS-GAG gel.
Both PRF and the CS-GAG gels were incubated in media for 13 days and media were collected,
stored, and replaced every 48 hours and the concentration of TGF-β1 quantified in
the media using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Concentrations of TGF-β1 in
the media were up to three times greater with the CS-GAG gels and were significantly
(p < 0.05) greater than with PRF on days 3, 5, 7, 9, and 13. Furthermore, TGF-β1 elution
was still substantial at day 13 with the use of the CS-GAG gels. Additional in vitro
work is warranted to characterize TGF-β1 elution from this CS-GAG gel with human PRP
and to determine whether the use of these CS-GAG gels can augment cartilage repair
in vivo.
Keywords
transforming growth factor-β1 - chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycan - platelet-rich
plasma - hydrogels - platelet-rich fibrin
