Inhibitory Effect of Platelet Rich Plasma on Adipogenesis of Rotator Cuff-Derived Cells

Abstract

Fatty degeneration was frequently seen in patients with chronic massive rotator cuff (RC) tears. Surgical outcomes of the rotator cuff repair are deteriorated in cases with severe fatty muscle degeneration. Recently, Platelet rich plasma (PRP) was reported to suppress adipogenesis within the marrow. Furthermore, PRP can induce human tenocyte proliferation and collagen synthesis. Based on these backgrounds, we hypothesized that PRP could suppress adipogenesis of RC-derived cells. Human tissues were obtained from torn edges of human supraspinatus tendons during arthroscopic RC repair. For PRP preparation, 4 systemically healthy volunteers participated in this study, and PRP was prepared following the protocol of double spinning method. After cells were cultured in standard medium for 3 days, the cells were subjected to the following 2 kinds of treatment for 3 weeks, 1) adipogenic medium + 10% PRP (PRP group) and 2) adipogenic medium alone (Control group). Cell viability was measured by WST assay, and adipogenic differentiation was evaluated by real time PCR for adipogenic markers and Oil red-O staining. The cell viability in PRP group was significantly greater than the Control group. The real-time PCR revealed that the expressions of adipogenic markers was significantly suppressed in PRP group compared to the Control. Oil red-O staining showed that the number of positive cells in PRP group was significantly less than the Control. We firstly reported that PRP could suppress adipogenesis of RC-derived cells without inhibiting cell viability in vitro. Further animal studies will be needed to assess the in vivo effect of PRP on adipogenesis within RC.