Influence of antiplatelet substances on platelet-rich plasma

Purpose: Platelets containing a number of growth factors (platelet-derived growth factor [PDGF], transforming growth factor-β [TGF-β], etc) can be obtained in high concentrations through centrifugal separation and are used in clinical applications as platelet-rich plasma (PRP). However, only a few studies have been conducted on the growth factors present in PRP. In this study, we focused on the concentrations of growth factors in PRP and clarified the influence of using antiplatelet substances in the process of platelet concentration to improve the concentration rate of growth factors in PRP. Materials and Methods: We made platelet pellets from whole blood obtained from humans with or without some antiplatelet substances (prostaglandin E ₁, aspirin, apyrase). Platelet pellets were resuspended in phosphate-buffered saline as platelet resuspensions. We measured PDGF and TGF-β1 concentrations in the samples. In measurements, we had the samples treated to release growth factors from platelets to measure accurate concentrations. Results: PDGF and TGF-β1 were concentrated to a mean of over 400% in the samples with antiplatelet substances as compared with the samples without antiplatelet substances. Conclusions: The antiplatelet substances were effective for efficiently concentrating growth factors in platelets.