INVESTIGATING OPTIMAL PLATELET PREPARTIONS TO PROMOTE ANGIOGENESIS AND WOUND HEALING

Background Platelets are a rich source of growth factors and play an important role in wound healing following vascular injury. Due to this tissue regenerative capacity the use of platelet rich plasma (PRP) to promote wound healing has gained traction over recent years. Despite increased use of PRP as a regenerative therapy, the optimal PRP preparations have not been investigated and the platelet-derived growth factors, which promote wound healing, have not been fully characterised. The aim of this study was to investigate the wound healing capacity of different PRP preparations and identify the growth factors released. Methods Blood was obtained from healthy volunteers (n=5) and PRP and platelet poor plasma (PPP) prepared by centrifugation. Plasma preparations were stimulated with thrombin (1Uml), or ADP (10μM) for 3 min and platelets removed by centrifugation. The different plasma preparations containing platelet releasate were used as treatments in HUVEC scratch assays and angiogenesis tube formation assays (n=5). Plasma preparations from all five donors were pooled and a proteome profiler assay used to determine the angiogenic modulators released from platelets by thrombin and ADP. Results Thrombin treated PRP and PPP significantly enhanced HUVEC wound closure compared to PPP alone, (P Conclusion Platelets contain a large number of proteins, which can modulate wound healing and angiogenesis, and therefore have the potential to be used therapeutically to treat chronic wounds. Different agonists however differentially release the pro- and antiangiogenic growth factors stored in platelet granules. Further work is therefore required to identify the optimal PRP preparation to promote wound healing. Conflict of interest none