Incorporation of exudates of human platelet-rich fibrin gel in biodegradable fibrin scaffolds for tissue engineering of cartilage

The goal of this study was to assess the incorporation of exudates of human platelet-rich fibrin (hPRF) that is abundant in platelet cytokines and growth factors into biodegradable fibrin (FB) scaffolds as a regeneration matrix for promoting chondrocyte proliferation and re-differentiation. hPRF was obtained from human blood by centrifugation without an anticoagulant, and the exudate of hPRF was collected and mixed with bovine fibrinogen, and then thrombin was added to form the FB scaffold. Proliferation and differentiation of human primary chondrocytes and a human chondrosarcoma cell line, the SW-1353, embedded in the three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds and on the two-dimensional (2D) surface of the FB scaffolds so produced were evaluated in comparison with an agarose (AG) scaffold serving as the control. Results demonstrated that the amounts of these cytokines and growth factors in hPRF exudates were higher than those in the blood-derived products except for TGF-β1. Chondrocytes and SW1353 cells on the 2D and 3D FB scaffolds with the addition of the exudates of PRF exhibited more-available proliferation and differentiation than cells on 2D and 3D FB and AG scaffolds. It was concluded that FB scaffolds can provide an appropriate environment for chondrocyte proliferation and re-differentiation, and it could be improved by adding exudates of hPRF. These 3D scaffolds have great promise for cartilage tissue engineering.