title: Cryopreservation of human insulin expressing cells macro-encapsulated in a durable therapeutic immunoisolating device theracyte.
abstract: Encapsulating insulin producing cells (INPCs) in an immunoisolation device have been shown to cure diabetes in rodents without the need for immunosuppression. However, micro-encapsulation in semi-solid gels raises longevity and safety concerns for future use of stem cell derived INPCs. We have focused on a durable and retrievable macro-encapsulation (> 10(6) cells) device (TheraCyte). Cryopreservation (CP) of cells preloaded into the device is highly desirable but may require prolonged exposure to cryoprotectants during loading and post-thaw manipulations. Here, we are reporting survival and function of a human islet cell line frozen as single cells or as islet-like cell clusters. The non-clusterized cells exhibited high cryosurvival after prolonged pre-freeze or post-thaw exposure to 10 percent DMSO. However, both clusterization and especially loading INPCs into the device reduced viable yield even without CP. The survived cryopreserved macro-encapsulated INPCs remained fully functional suggesting that CP of macro-encapsulated cells is a promising tool for cell based therapies.
authors.affiliation: Cryocore of the Stem Cell Center, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Ilya
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yakhnenko
authors.forename: Wallace K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Igor I
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Katkov
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Itkin-Ansari
mesh_terms: D002470:Cell Survival; D018914:Cells, Immobilized / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000379:methods*; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide