PDGF in tissue repair
Platelet-derived growth factor — one of the earliest signals released at any wound.
Platelet-derived growth factor is released by degranulating platelets within moments of injury, making it one of the first signals present at a wound. It is chemotactic and mitogenic for mesenchymal cells: it recruits them to the site and drives them to proliferate. That places it early in the repair sequence, before differentiation-inducing signals such as the BMPs.
That sequence is why combinations often outperform single factors. Published work on chitosan scaffolds reports dual growth factor systems such as PDGF-BB with BMP-6 showing synergistic effects, particularly in mineralisation and osteocalcin expression — recruit and expand a cell population first, then instruct it. PDGF-BB also stabilises new vessels formed under VEGF, recruiting mural cells to mature them.
Its chemotactic action makes it central to Cell homing strategies, where recruiting resident cells is the entire mechanism. PDGF is among the few growth factors in approved clinical products, in periodontal and wound applications.
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