Alopecia is one of the most distressing side effects of chemotherapy for which there is no complete protective therapy. Blood components, such as Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), have demonstrated hair growth capacity with negligible complications due to the autologous nature of the therapy. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of Mononuclear Cells (MC) and PRP on the protection from chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA). The study was conducted using the established young rat model with MC and PRP harvested from inbred adult Fisher rats. Three different chemotherapies were used independently; 1-β-G-arabinofuranosylcytosine (Ara-C), cyclophosphamide (CTX), and etoposide (UP-16). Each chemotherapeutic agent was studied in three different groups. Group I served as the control group and received 0.1mL of cutaneous PBS on top of the head. Group 2 received PRP and Group 3 received MC in PBS. All of the groups developed complete body alopecia with the three chemotherapies. The rats treated with MC demonstrated protection from CIA induced by Ara-C, which was most likely mediated by the release of IL-1. No protection was seen, however, from CTX or VP-16 by MC. Finally, the experimental group treated with PRP did not demonstrate protection from any of the chemotherapeutic agents.

Effect of Cellular Blood Components on Chemotherapy Induced Alopecia