Introduction: Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is being investigated as a novel treatment option for ED. PRP is a restorative therapy rich in cytokines and growth factors that may reverse the underlying pathology of sexual dysfunction. However, before PRP can be used effectively in clinic, it is critical to understand whether the growth factor concentration is similar among men diagnosed with ED. We hypothesized that the concentration of growth factors varies in PRP’s of men with different comorbidities.
Objective: To determine whether growth factors vary among PRP of men with ED.
Methods: Blood was obtained from men with ED, and healthy males as controls. The Arthrex Angel system was used to extract PRP from whole blood. PRP extract was kept in -80 C. First with the Abcam Human Growth Factor Antibody Array kit (ab134002) we checked 41 human growth factors in the PRP of men with sexual dysfunction. In the next validation step, after running a Bradford Assay to ensure equal protein concentrations, we evaluated GM-CSF, VEGF, and TGF-B growth factors in an additional cohort of men with ED. The density of the bands in all the blots was analyzed using densitometry analysis with ImageJ.
Results: Subjects were aged 39-61 year, and all were diagnosed with ED. Subjects had a variety of additional comorbidities including obstructive sleep apnea, hyperlipidemia, and obesity. Subject BMI ranged from 20.1-32.7. The results of Human Growth factor Antibody Array showed that among 41 human growth factors in the PRP of men with sexual dysfunction, there was decreased expression of GM-CSF, VEGF, TGF-B as compared to controls. When with western blotting we validated these growth factors in an additional cohort of men with ED, we found that all these 3 growth factors were variable in their concentrations. Interestingly, we did not identify an association between growth factor expression and age, BMI, or comorbidities.
Conclusions: The use of PRP as a therapeutic agent for sexual dysfunction may need to be personalized based on individuals' age, comorbidities, or growth factor content. Individuals with underlying comorbidities may need different volumes of PRP. Unlike shockwave therapy (another regenerative therapy) that can be uniformly applied to men, PRP needs to be personalized based on growth factor concentrations.
Source of Funding:
Funding: This work was supported by Miami CTSI Pilot Award (GR019191) to TM.
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