Medical University of Graz, Austria

Human platelet lysate is a rich source of growth factors and a potent supplement in cell culture. This protocol presents the process of preparing a large pool of human platelet lysate by starting from platelet rich plasma, performing several freeze-thaw cycles and depleting the platelet fragments.

Endothelial colony forming progenitor cells (ECFCs) are a promising tool to study vascular homeostasis and repair.^1,2 This paper introduces a novel animal-serum free method for isolation and expansion of ECFC from heparinised adult human peripheral blood with pooled human platelet lysate (pHPL) diminishing the risk of anti-bovine immunisation.

This protocol describes the isolation and subsequent expansion of mesenchymal stromal cells and endothelial colony forming cells without the use of animal serum to generate autologous pairs for experimental transplantation purposes.