2025, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (36): 7816-7826

Effect of a novel cryoprotectant in tissues and cells

Wang Qingfang, Zhang Fen, Chang Guangping, Li Zihan, Xing Lan, Peng Hao, Zeng Xiuping, Zhong Guiqiang, Chen Hui, Liu Bo, Liu Zhenyu, Liang Xiao   

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The cryopreservation technology enables tissues/cells to be stored for a long time in a low-temperature environment while maintaining the integrity of their activity and function, which is of great significance for the construction of cell therapy, tissue engineering and biological sample banks. Cryoprotective agents often contain dimethyl sulfoxide and serum. To avoid the toxic side effects of dimethyl sulfoxide, the complexity of serum components and immune responses, although some finished cryoprotective agents have been marketed, they are faced with many difficulties such as high cost and limited application. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a cryoprotective agent with clear components and the ability to solve the above problems.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of a novel cryoprotectant on cryopreservation efficiency of different tissue and cell sources.
METHODS: By applying the novel cryoprotectant as an experimental group with the commercially available and widely used cryoprotectant (control group) to umbilical cord Wharton’s jelly tissue, umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells, umbilical cord blood/peripheral blood mononuclear cells, NK and CIK cells, comparative analyses were conducted in terms of cell morphology, number, viability, surface markers, differentiation potential, and cell-killing toxicity assay before cryopreservation and after resuscitation thawing. We confirmed the cryopreservation effect of the new cryoprotectant and its potential application value.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) The novel cryoprotectant facilitated the normal growth of cryopreserved Wharton’s jelly tissue upon recovery, exhibiting mesenchymal stem cell morphology. No significant differences were observed between the experimental and control groups in terms of cell recovery rate, surface markers, and differentiation potential. (2) There was no significant difference in the number and viability of cells between the experimental group and the control group after cryopreservation of cord blood/peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and the cryo-resuscitated cell numbers and viability of derived NK cells/CIK cells did not show significant difference between the experimental and control groups. (3) For NK cells derived and differentiated from cord blood/peripheral blood mononuclear cells, there was no significant difference in the proportion of CD56+CD16+ cell subpopulations between the experimental group and the control group. For CIK cells derived and differentiated from cord blood/peripheral blood mononuclear cells, there was no significant difference in the proportions of CD3+CD8+ and CD3+CD56+ cell subpopulations between the experimental group and the control group. (4) In terms of cytotoxicity testing, when the effective-target ratio of immune cells and melanoma cell line Mel624 was 20:1, whether it was NK cells/CIK cells derived from cord blood or peripheral blood mononuclear cells, there was no significant difference in the tumoricidal activity of cells between the experimental group and the control group. These findings suggest that the novel cryoprotectant can replace existing commercially available and widely used cryoprotectants, and is applicable to Wharton’s jelly tissue, umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells, umbilical cord blood/peripheral blood mononuclear cells, as well as NK and CIK cells, providing a solid technical foundation for the scaling, standardization, and commercialization of universal cryoprotectants.

Key words: cryoprotectant, Wharton’s jelly tissue, umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell, umbilical cord blood mononuclear cell, peripheral blood mononuclear cell, NK cell, CIK cell