Platelets are a reservoir of
growth factors,
cytokines and
chemokines involved in spontaneous
wound repair. In this study, a platelet-rich and
fibrin-rich
hydrogel was generated from expired platelet components that would have otherwise been transfused. The material contained physiological concentrations of
transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1,
platelet-derived growth factor AB (
PDGF-AB),
PDGF-BB,
insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1),
fibroblast growth factor 2 (
FGF-2), and
epidermal growth factor (
EGF). The effect of the
hydrogel on
wound repair was investigated in SKH-1 mice. Full thickness dorsal
wounds were created on the mice and treated with the
hydrogel at various concentrations. Immunohistochemical staining with CD31 (endothelial cell marker) revealed that
wounds treated with the
hydrogel showed significantly enhanced vascularisation in the
wound bed. Moreover, high levels of
interleukin-6 (IL-6) and KC (IL-8 functional homologue) in treated
wounds were sustained over a longer period of time, compared to untreated
wounds. We postulate that sustained IL-6 is a driver, at least partly, of enhanced vascularisation in full thickness
wounds treated with the
hydrogel. Future work is needed to explore whether this
hydrogel can be utilised as a treatment option when vascularisation is a critical limitation. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The economic cost of
wound repair is estimated in billions of dollars each year. In many cases time required to vascularise
wounds is a major contributor to slow
wound repair. In this study, we developed a blood-derived platelet- and
fibrin-rich
hydrogel. It contains a number of
growth factors actively involved in spontaneous wound healing. This
hydrogel significantly improved dermal repair and vascularisation in a full-thickness
wound mouse model. This study provides an action mechanism for modulation of localised
inflammation.