High Intensity Interval Exercise Increases Platelet and Transforming Growth Factor- β Yield in Platelet-Rich Plasma: High intensity exercise maximizes PRP content

BACKGROUND: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an emerging orthobiologic treatment for musculoskeletal conditions like osteoarthritis. Two studies have demonstrated the influence of longer duration exercise on PRP composition, but no study has ever explored the impact of high intensity interval exercise (HIIE) on PRP content. OBJECTIVE: To quantify cellular and growth factor content changes in PRP after 4 min of HIIE. DESIGN: Controlled laboratory pilot study. SETTING: Academic sports medicine center. PARTICIPANTS: Ten healthy volunteers (5 male, 5 female). INTERVENTION: Volunteers had PRP prepared from 15 mL of whole blood using a single spin, plasma-based system (Autologous Conditioned Plasma [ACP]) immediately before and after 4-min of HIIE on a stationary exercise bike (Tabata protocol). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The PRP was sent for complete blood counts and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to quantify transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). RESULTS: Mean platelet count in PRP increased from 367.4 +/- 57.5 k/uL to 497.7 +/- 93.3 k/uL after 4 min of HIIE (P < 0.001). Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta also increased from 8237.2 +/- 7676.5 pg/mL to 21 535.7 +/- 4062.6 pg/mL post-exercise (P = 0.004). The other cellular components (leukocytes, red blood cells and mean platelet volume) and growth factors (PDGF, IGF-1 and VEGF) were not significantly changed. CONCLUSIONS: A short 4-min bout of HIIE significantly increased the total platelet count and TGF-beta concentration in PRP. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.