Targeting growth factor supply in XXXX treatment: comparison between maternal peripheral blood and cord blood as sources for the preparation of topical eye drops.

@entity1 @entity7 @entity2372 @entity2533 @entity2687 @entity2280
BACKGROUND: Epitheliotrophic growth factors (GF) can be supplied topically to @entity1 with severe @entity2372 through a variety of blood-derived products. We compared GF content in adult peripheral blood serum (PB-S) and cord blood serum (CB-S) as potential sources of GF. To limit inter-individual variability the assessment was performed in maternal- @entity1 pairs at the time of delivery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The amounts of epidermal GF (EGF), insulin-like GF (IGF), transforming GF-beta ( @entity2533 ), @entity7 ( @entity7 ) in CB units collected from the umbilical vein and PB from mothers (each group n=30) were estimated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Obstetric characteristics and haematological data were recorded from the archives of the Emilia Romagna Cord Blood Bank. Statistical evaluations were performed by Wilcoxon's test and correlations between variables were determined using Spearman's (  ) coefficient; p-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: EGF, @entity2533 and @entity7 levels were significantly higher in CB-S than in PB-S (median 1,254.4 vs 646.0 pg/mL, 51.3 vs 38.4  g/mL and 686.8 vs 30 pg/mL, respectively; all p<0.0001) whereas IGF content was significantly higher in PB-S than in CB-S (159.9 vs 53.5 pg/mL, respectively; p<0.0001). In CB-S, the @entity2280 (+) cell concentration appeared to be related to EGF, IGF and @entity2533 levels whereas white blood cell count appeared to be related to EGF and @entity2533 levels. @entity7 levels showed no relation to the haematological parameters considered. Platelet counts were not related to GF level in either CB or PB. DISCUSSION: The GF content in the two blood sources was different, with CB containing larger amounts. Each GF selectively regulates cellular processes involved in @entity2687 , so the use of PB or CB should be targeted to supply specific GF on the basis of the type and severity of the @entity2372 .
