Aging Affects the Efficacy of Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatment for Osteoarthritis

Objective: Despite the increased use of platelet-rich plasma in the treatment of osteoarthritis, whether and how age of the platelet-rich plasma donor affects therapeutic efficacy is unclear.

Design: In vitro, male osteoarthritic human chondrocytes were treated with platelet-rich plasma from young (18-35 yrs) or old (≥65 yrs) donors, and the chondrogenic profile was evaluated using immunofluorescent staining for two markers of chondrogenicity, type II collagen and SOX-9. In vivo, we used a within-subjects design to compare Osteoarthritis Research Society International scores in aged mouse knee joints injected with platelet-rich plasma from young or old individuals.

Results: In vitro experiments revealed that platelet-rich plasma from young donors induced a more youthful chondrocyte phenotype, as evidenced by increased type II collagen ( P = 0.033) and SOX-9 expression ( P = 0.022). This benefit, however, was significantly blunted when cells were cultured with platelet-rich plasma from aged donors. Accordingly, in vivo studies revealed that animals treated with platelet-rich plasma from young donors displayed a significantly improved cartilage integrity when compared with knees injected with platelet-rich plasma from aged donors ( P = 0.019).

Conclusions: Injection of platelet-rich plasma from a young individual induced a regenerative effect in aged cells and mice, whereas platelet-rich plasma from aged individuals showed no improvement in chondrocyte health or cartilage integrity.