Effects of GB34 acupuncture on hyperventilation-induced carbon dioxide reactivity and cerebral blood flow velocity in the anterior and middle cerebral arteries of normal subjects.

Objectives: To determine whether acupuncture at GB34 affects cerebral blood flow (CBF) via the anterior cerebral arteries (ACAs) and middle cerebral arteries (MCAs).

Methods: This study included 10 healthy young male volunteers. CBF velocity and cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) were measured using transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD).

Optimization of cryopreservation condition for hematopoietic stem cells from umbilical cord blood.

The conditions for cryopreservation of CD34(+) hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) from umbilical cord blood (UCB) were optimized with a new cryo-medium containing 10% ethylene glycol (EG) and 2% dimethyl sulfoxide (Me(2)SO) using a controlled-rate freezing (CRF) method. After the cryopreservation of mononuclear cells (MNC) from UCB, recoveries of MNC, CD34(+) cells, and total colony-forming units (CFU) were significantly improved compared to those in the control cryo-medium containing 10% Me(2)SO and 2% Dextran-40 (P<0.05).

The cryopreservation of high concentrated PBMC for dendritic cell (DC)-based cancer immunotherapy.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) have been accepted as a unique material for cancer immunotherapy using dendritic cells (DC) or activated lymphocytes that are being developed as an alternative or adjuvant to conventional therapies such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Although successful cryopreservation of large numbers of PBMC is critical for the immunotherapy, subsequent functional study of the effects of PBMC cryopreservation on differentiation into immune cells has not been well defined. In this study, over 1.

Immobilization of cryopreserved primary rat hepatocytes for the development of a bioartificial liver system.

Primary rat hepatocytes were cryopreserved in hormonally-defined medium (HDM) containing 40% (v/v) fetal bovine serum (FBS) and 10% (v/v) dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in liquid N2 for 6 months. After thawing, the cells were immobilized using 2% (w/v) alginate and 0.5% (w/v) chitosan solutions.

Optimization of cryoprotectants for cryopreservation of rat hepatocyte.

Rat hepatocytes were cryopreserved in hormonally-defined medium (HDM) containing either fetal bovine serum (FBS), glycerol, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), sucrose or a mixture of these as a cryoprotectant. The best survival was with 10% (v/v) DMSO containing 30% (v/v) FBS using 5 x 10(5) hepatocytes ml(-1) at -70 degrees C for 5 d on type I collagen-coated dishes. After thawing, the cell viability was 81% determined by the MTT-test.