title: Cold- and cryopreservation of dog liver and kidney slices.
abstract: The use of tissue slices in culture could decrease the number of animals used in health-related research and decrease experimental variation. This reduction may come about particularly if the methods of cold- and cryopreserving tissue slices are perfected, and one can conduct sequential in vitro experiments into xenobiotic metabolism, organ-specific toxicity, or organ-specific biochemical processes with tissue slices. With this goal in mind, dog liver and kidney slices were placed in cold storage at 0 degrees C using Viaspan (UW), Euro-Collins (EC), Sacks + prostacyclin (SP), and V-7 (V7) cold-preservation solutions for 10 days. Viability was assessed each day by measuring K+ content and protein synthesis after 4 h of incubation in Waymouth + 10% fetal calf serum (FCS). Dog liver slices can be cold-preserved in V7 for up to 7 days using K+ retention as the viability criterion but only up to 4 days using protein synthesis. Dog kidney slices can be cold-preserved in UW, EC, and V7 for up to 10 days using K+ retention, but only V7 could maintain protein synthesis for 10 days. Cryopreserved dog liver and kidney slices retained 63-68% of control viability after 4 h of incubation in FCS. The cryopreservation regimen included using 10% dimethyl sulfoxide in FCS as the cryoprotectant, a freezing rate of 0.5 degrees C/min for liver slices and 12 degrees C/min for kidney slices, and thawing in 37 degrees C FCS. Continued development of cold- and cryopreserving tissue slices could reduce the numbers of animals used and provide accurate and reproducible data.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85724, USA.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hasal
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Sanuik
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Hasal
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Gandolfi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brendel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003080:Cold Temperature; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000379:methods*; D003451:Cryoprotective Agents; D004285:Dogs; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D012996:Solutions; D013997:Time Factors; D014021:Tissue Preservation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003451:Cryoprotective Agents; D012996:Solutions; D011188:Potassium