title: A biological therapy to osteoarthritis treatment using platelet-rich plasma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease affecting the synovial joint. It is caused by cells exposure to non-physiological stimuli, either mechanical or biochemical, and the loss of bone-cartilage homeostasis. Some of these changes, however, may be reversed by the use of single or combined growth factors, suggesting that the treatment of OA could be addressed using a pool of growth factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  This review addresses current molecular and biological knowledge and implicates the recapitulation of some developmental processes during endochondral ossification in OA aetiology and pathogenesis. Platelets act as carriers of endogenous morphogens that may modulate cell fate and therefore affect joint tissues structure and function. We shed light on the platelet-rich plasma effects on biological level that might drive the osteoarthritic joint's improvement both in structure and function.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We present the therapeutic potential of plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF-Endoret), an endogenous biological therapy that might modulate the gene expression of cells such as chondrocytes, synoviocytes, macrophages, and mesenchymal stem cells, and thereby influence an anabolic microenvironment of synovial joint which is conducive to maintaining the homeostatic state of the joint's tissues, and hence reduce pain and improve the joint motion.
authors.affiliation: Foundation Eduardo Anitua Biotechnology Institute, Jacinto Quincoces, 39, 01007 Vitoria (Álava), Spain. eduardoanitua.@eduardoanitua.com
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Anitua
authors.forename: Mikel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: Gorka
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Orive
authors.forename: Sabino
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Padilla
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001691:Biological Therapy; D006801:Humans; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000628:therapy*; D053657:Platelet-Rich Plasma