In vitro analysis of an rhGDF-5 suture coating process and the effects of rhGDF-5 on rat tendon fibroblasts

Abstract

We describe a dipcoating method of coating 4-0 VICRYL sutures with recombinant human growth and differentiation factor-5 (rhGDF-5), and analyze the in vitro effects of rhGDF-5 on rat tendon fibroblasts (RTFs). Part I: Eight 4-0 VICRYL sutures were coated in a dipcoat solution using rhGDF-5 solutions at concentrations of 0, 40, 200, and 1000 μg/ml (n = 32). ELISA was performed to determine the amount of rhGDF-5 that was transferred on the suture. Part II: Using a dipcoat solution of 200 μg/ml, four sutures were passed through rat tendon, and quantified ELISA was again performed. Cell proliferation, collagen synthesis, and RTF cell migration were also analyzed. The differences in the amount rhGDF-5 transferred on the suture between the different concentration groups were statistically significant. Furthermore, rhGDF-5-stimulated RTF cell migration, cell proliferation, and collagen synthesis at dipcoat concentrations of rhGDF-5 of at least 200 μg/ml.

Keywords::

• rhGDF-5
• dipcoat
• suture
• in vitro
• rat tendon fibroblasts

Acknowledgements

We thank Steven Gould, Kenny Mandel, Mark Timmer, and Rita Prajapati.

Declaration of interest: Funding for this project was obtained by Johnson and Johnson Regenerative Therapeutics, LLC, Raynham, Massachusetts. The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.