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Bulk Droplet Vitrification for Primary Hepatocyte Preservation
Published on: October 25, 2019
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Cold Preservation of Human Hepatocytes with High Viability
Serene M L Lee1,2, Armin Kern3, Karl-Walter Jauch4,5
1Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Biopreservation and Biobanking
|November 10, 2022
Summary
Overnight storage or shipment of human hepatocytes maintains sufficient viability and adherence for research. Cytochrome P450 enzyme activities remain inducible, supporting shared hepatocyte use for preclinical studies.
Area of Science:
- Hepatocyte research
- Translational medicine
- Drug metabolism studies
Background:
- Freshly isolated human hepatocytes are crucial for translational research, animal experiment validation, and preclinical studies.
- On-demand isolation is challenging, often necessitating hepatocyte sharing or outsourcing.
- Maintaining hepatocyte phenotype during transport is essential for this strategy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of overnight storage or shipment on human hepatocyte quality.
- To evaluate viability, adherence, and cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme activities post-transport.
Main Methods:
- Human hepatocytes were stored overnight or shipped on wet ice.
- Viability and adherence were assessed the following day.
- Cytochrome P450 (CYP) activities and inducibility were determined using sandwich cultures.
Main Results:
- Viability decreased by 11-15% after storage/shipment but remained above 64%, suitable for experiments.
- Stored hepatocytes showed good adherence (81-91% confluence after 48 hours).
- CYP enzyme activities were inducible and generally unaffected by donor factors like fibrosis or BMI, though cancer type and sex showed some effects.
Conclusions:
- Overnight storage or shipment of human hepatocytes preserves sufficient quality for further research.
- Centralized isolation and sharing of human hepatocytes can increase flexibility and access to this valuable in vitro model.
- This approach enhances the utility of human hepatocytes for preclinical and translational studies.
