title: Feasibility of cryopreservation of zebrafish (Danio rerio) primordial germ cells by whole embryo freezing.
abstract: We investigated the feasibility of cryopreservation of zebrafish (Danio rerio) blastomeres and primordial germ cells (PGCs) by rapid freezing of dechorionated whole embryos at the blastula, gastrula and segmentation stages. Initially we examined the glass-forming properties and embryo toxicities of 5 cryoprotectants: methanol (MeOH), ethylene glycol (EG), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), propylene glycol (PG), and 1,3-butylene glycol (1,3-BG). Embryos at the blastula and gastrula stages had high sensitivities to cryoprotectant toxicities and were fragile against mechanical damage. Thus the segmentation stage embryos, the PGCs of which were visualized by injecting green fluorescence protein-nos1 3'UTR mRNA, were frozen using solutions containing each cryoprotectant at 6 M (first trial) and 2 types of cryoprotectants at 3 M each (second trial). In the first trial, live PGCs were recovered from most of the embryos frozen with EG (about 2 cells/embryo); however, a few embryos had live PGCs when embryos were frozen with other cryoprotectants. In the second trial, a mixture of EG + PG better preserved the viability of PGCs in frozen embryos. Live PGCs were recovered from all embryos frozen with EG + PG (about 3 cells/embryo), and the survival rate of PGCs was estimated to be about 25% based on the number of live PGCs in fresh embryos (about 12 cells/embryo). The present study indicates that we can utilize rapid freezing of dechorionated whole embryos at the segmentation stage for the cryopreservation of PGCs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Shogo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Higaki
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mochizuki
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baba
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Akashi
authors.forename: Etsuro
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yamaha
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Katagiri
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D036703:Blastula / Q000166:cytology; D002072:Butylene Glycols; D002455:Cell Division; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000379:methods; D003451:Cryoprotective Agents; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000166:cytology*; D019855:Ethylene Glycol; D005775:Gastrula / Q000166:cytology; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D019946:Propylene Glycol; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D002072:Butylene Glycols; D003451:Cryoprotective Agents; C028491:1,3-butylene glycol; D019946:Propylene Glycol; D019855:Ethylene Glycol; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide