Although stem cells were discovered more than a century ago, only in the past decade have horses begun to benefit from regenerative medicine. And like all medical techniques in their infancy, stem cell therapy remains a somewhat crude technology, despite its apparent success so far. There is likely to be more to regenerative medicine than simply harvesting, proliferating, and re-injecting stem cells, researchers reported at the 2011 North American Veterinary Regenerative Medicine Conference held June 2-4 in Lexington, Ky. A better understanding of growth factors released from platelets, for instance, might enhance healing.

"In addition to providing new cells, regenerative therapies like stem cells and platelet-rich plasma need to renew tissue architecture," emphasized platelet-rich plasma researcher Jamie Textor, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, and PhD candidate in the Regenerative Medicine Laboratory at the University of California, Davis’, William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. "Growth factors and an appropriate ‘matrix’, or scaffold, are also important."

Growth factors are found in high concentrations in platelets and influence cell division (proliferation) and migration (into a wound to assist with healing), for example. These growth factors are released from the platelets (the body’s "first responders" that aid in blood clot formation) at the site of injury.

Textor explained that the cells involved in healing, growth factors, and a matrix are all components of the regenerative "triad" imperative to truly achieving regenerative medicine