title: Cryoprotective effects of D-allose on mammalian cells.
abstract: D-allose, an aldo-hexose, is a rare sugar whose biological functions remain largely unclear. Recently, we demonstrated a novel inhibitory effect of D-allose on production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here, we focused on investigating cryoprotective effects of D-allose on cell viability. Mammalian cell lines including OVCAR-3 (human ovarian cancer), HeLa (human cervical cancer), HaCaT (human skin keratinocytes), HDF (human dermal fibroblasts) and NIH3T3 (murine fibroblasts) cells were frozen at -80 degrees C in culture media with various D-allose concentrations. Cells were allowed to recover for 24 h, 1 week or 1 month prior to survival assessment using the trypan blue dye exclusion test, when cell proliferation was evaluated by MTT assay. A beneficial protective role of D-allose on cell survival was found, similar to that of trehalose (disaccharide of glucose), a recognized cryoprotectant. The results suggest that D-allose as a sole additive may provide effective protection for mammalian cells during freezing. Practical studies now need to be performed with D-allose, for example to determine optimal freezing protocols and explore potential for preservation of tissues or organs at non-freezing temperatures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan; Kagawa Industry Support Foundation, Kagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sui
authors.forename: Rika
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.forename: Youyi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Fuminori
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Izumori
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tokuda
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line / Q000187:drug effects*; D003451:Cryoprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005947:Glucose / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells
chemical_list: D003451:Cryoprotective Agents; C002055:allose; D005947:Glucose