Shipping mouse bone marrow: Keep it in the bone.

Area of Science:

• Life Science Research
• Hematology
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Sharing biological reagents is crucial in life science.
• Primary cell populations, like mouse bone marrow (BM), often exhibit poor cryopreservation and require extensive preparation, hindering collaborative research and reagent sharing.
• Efficient methods for shipping BM cells are needed to maintain their quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate different storage and shipment conditions for mouse BM cells.
• To determine the optimal method for preserving cell number, viability, hematopoietic lineage frequency, and progenitor cell functionality during transport.

Main Methods:

• Mouse long bones were either crushed to isolate BM cells or stored intact at 4°C in Phosphate-Buffered Saline (PBS) with 2% Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS), Plasmalyte, or RPMI.
• Cell number, viability, phenotype, and progenitor functionality were assessed at 16 and 40 hours post-storage.
• Results were compared to freshly prepared BM cells.

Main Results:

• Storing intact long bones at 4°C for 16 hours resulted in minimal loss of cell number and viability compared to fresh samples.
• Storing BM cells in suspension for 16 hours or intact bones for 40 hours led to significant cell loss.
• No significant differences were observed among the tested storage media (PBS+FBS, Plasmalyte, RPMI).

Conclusions:

• Storing intact mouse long bones in various media (Plasmalyte, PBS+FBS) at 4°C for up to 16 hours is a viable method for preserving BM cell populations.
• This approach offers a practical solution for shipping BM cells, maintaining their cellular integrity and functionality for downstream research.