Cooling and Cryopreservation of Equine Platelet-Rich Plasma With Dimethyl Sulfoxide and Trehalose.
Authors: Kwirant Liomara Andressa do Amaral, De La Corte Flávio Desessards, Cantarelli Camila, Cargnelutti Juliana Felipetto, Martins Mathias, Cabral Mariê Wolski, Maciel Nayrema, Rubin Mara Iolanda Batistella
Journal: Journal of equine veterinary science
Summary
Equine platelet-rich plasma (PRP) offers therapeutic potential across orthopaedic, soft tissue and reproductive conditions, yet its clinical application has been severely restricted by the short functional lifespan of platelets, preventing off-site preparation and storage. Researchers assessed whether the cryoprotectants dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and trehalose could preserve platelet viability and bioactivity when equine PRP was cooled to 4°C or cryopreserved at -196°C over a 14-day period, measuring platelet counts, mean platelet volume and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) release across fresh, treated and untreated samples. Whilst cooling maintained platelet counts comparable to fresh PRP, cryopreservation resulted in significantly lower platelet numbers; notably, refrigerated PRP with either cryoprotectant and frozen samples still released substantial amounts of TGF-β1 (approximately 26% of fresh PRP levels at 27,291 pg/mL versus 105,891 pg/mL), indicating retained biological activity despite structural changes. These findings suggest that short-term refrigerated storage of treated PRP may offer practitioners a viable window for preparation and distribution without dramatic loss of therapeutic potential, whilst long-term cryopreservation remains problematic for platelet preservation—findings with implications for centralised PRP preparation services and clinical protocols requiring batch production or delayed administration.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Cooling PRP to 4°C preserves platelet counts better than cryopreservation at -196°C for 14-day storage, potentially enabling wider distribution of PRP for field use
- •Even with storage, PRP retains significant growth factor release capacity (26% of fresh levels), suggesting clinical utility beyond immediate on-site application
- •DMSO and trehalose show promise as additives to improve PRP storage viability, which could expand clinical applications for treating bone, joint, tendon and other equine injuries
Key Findings
- •Cooled PRP (4°C) maintained platelet counts similar to fresh PRP over 14 days of storage
- •Cryopreserved PRP (-196°C) showed significantly lower platelet counts compared to fresh PRP after 14 days
- •Fresh PRP released TGF-β1 at 105,891 ± 52,398 pg/mL while stored samples released 27,291 ± 9,625 pg/mL
- •Both DMSO (6%) and trehalose (300 mM) were evaluated as cryoprotectants for preserving platelet viability