Share

Freezing without surrounding the cryomedium preserves the endothelium and its function in human internal mammary arteries.

Author(s) : MÜLLER-SCHWEINITZER E., GRAPOW M., KONERDING M. A., et al.

Type of article: Article

Summary

Cryopreserved human blood vessels may become important tools in bypass surgery. Optimal cryopreservation of an arterial graft should, therefore, preserve both histological and physiological characteristics of smooth muscle and endothelium comparable to the unfrozen artery. In this study, rings from human internal mammary arteries (IMA) were investigated in vitro either unfrozen or after immersion into a cryomedium (RPMI 1640 containing 1.8 M Me2SO and 0.1 M sucrose) and cryostorage with and without surrounding medium. In unfrozen IMA, neither contractile responses to noradrenaline (NA) nor endothelium-dependent relaxant responses to acetylcholine (ACH) was modified after exposure of the IMA to cryomedium or during activation of protein kinase C by phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu). Exposure to cryomedium with gradually increasing Me2SO content before starting the cooling process did not improve the post-thaw functional activity of the artery. Optimal post-thaw recovery of contractile responses to NA and PGF2a was observed after freezing at a speed of -1.2 and -3°C/min in arteries stored with and without surrounding cryomedium. Compared to unfrozen controls, the ACH-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation during active tone induced by 3 µM PGF2a reached 16 and 56% after freezing with and without surrounding medium. All functional data showed considerably better preservation of the endothelial layer after freezing without medium.

Details

  • Original title: Freezing without surrounding the cryomedium preserves the endothelium and its function in human internal mammary arteries.
  • Record ID : 2006-1524
  • Languages: English
  • Source: Cryobiology - vol. 51 - n. 1
  • Publication date: 2005/08

Links


See other articles in this issue (2)
See the source

Indexing