A pilot study on relationship between quantity of growth factors and cytokines to blood groups in umbilical cord blood-derived PRP

Objective: Umbilical cord blood-derived platelet-rich plasma (UCB-PRP) contains essential growth factors and cytokines that play a crucial role in tissue regeneration and immune modulation. This study aims to investigate several growth factors and cytokines in UCB-PRP related to ABO blood types. Subject and method: UCB was collected in the delivery room and transferred to the laboratory for PRP preparation. Subsequently, the Luminex assay was used to analyze the expression of four growth factors, including fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2), platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A), and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), as well as three cytokines, including interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-7, and IL-8. Result: Results showed that B blood type UCB-PRP exhibited the highest total factor concentration (3708.515 pg/mL), followed by UCB-PRP O blood type (830.531 pg/mL), and UCB-PRP A blood type (455.01 pg/mL). PDGF-BB, FGF-2, and VEGF-A were highly expressed in the UCB-PRP B blood type, while HGF was more abundant in the UCB-PRP O blood type. Additionally, IL-6, IL-7, and IL-8 were more prevalent in the B blood type-UCB-PRP, with IL-7 being the only cytokine detected across all blood types. However, regression analysis indicated weak correlations between growth factor and cytokine levels with ABO blood groups, suggesting that additional factors influence PRP composition. Conclusion: These findings highlight differential expression of several growth factors and cytokines in UCB-PRP and indicate the potential correlation of these factor expression with a particular UCB group for PRP. These data have potentials for the utilization of blood group-specific PRP applications.