Biobanking: The Future of Cell Preservation Strategies.

With established techniques cryopreservation is often viewed as an "old school" discipline yet modern cryopreservation is undergoing another scientific and technology development growth phase. In this regard, today's cryopreservation processes and cryopreserved products are found at the forefront of research in the areas of discovery science, stem cell research, diagnostic development and personalized medicine. As the utilization of cryopreserved cells continues to increase, the demands placed on the biobanking industry are increasing and evolving at an accelerated rate.

Vitamin D(3) cryosensitization increases prostate cancer susceptibility to cryoablation via mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis and necrosis.

Objectives: To investigate the effect and molecular mechanisms of action of Vitamin D(3) (VD(3) ) as a neo-adjunctive agent before cryosurgery in an effort to increase treatment efficacy for prostate cancer (CaP). To eliminate the potential for disease recurrence that exists at the periphery of the freeze lesion, where temperatures may be insufficient to destroy both androgen-sensitive (AS) and androgen-insensitive (AI) CaP.

Methods: Human CaP cells, LNCaP, were each genetically altered to express the AS and AI phenotypes and subjected to VD(3) treatment and freezing in an in vitro and tissue-engineered model.

Changing paradigms in biopreservation.

The field of cryopreservation has a long and successful history of in-depth study and progress. Advances in our knowledge base and our ability to cryopreserve cells have been consequential and have led to its widespread integration into academic, clinical, and agricultural settings. While many cell systems are successfully cryopreserved today, there remains significant cell loss associated with cryopreservation.

In Vitro Assessment of Apoptosis and Necrosis Following Cold Storage in a Human Airway Cell Model.

As advances in medical technology improve the efficacy of cell and tissue transplantation, a void remains in our knowledge base as to the specific molecular responses of cells to low-temperature storage. While much focus has been given to solution formulation for tissue perfusion during storage, investigations into cold exposure-induced complex molecular changes remain limited. The intent of this study was to quantify the levels of cell death following hypothermic storage in a lung cell model, establishing a foundation for future in-depth molecular analysis.

Cryoablative response of prostate cancer cells is influenced by androgen receptor expression.

Objective: To investigate in prostate cancer cells the consequences of androgen-insensitivity (AI) development on the cellular and molecular responses to freezing, as a challenge in prostate cancer treatment occurs when the androgen-sensitive (AS) phenotype switches to an AI phenotype, the latter of which is often refractory to many therapies.

Materials And Methods: PC-3 (AI) and LNCaP (AS) were each genetically altered to express the opposite phenotype and subjected to an in vitro freezing model. Viability, caspase inhibitor and Western blot studies were used to determine the basis of the differential responses of AI and AS cells.

Cryosurgical technique: assessment of the fundamental variables using human prostate cancer model systems.

Cryosurgery offers a promising therapeutic alternative for the treatment of prostate cancer. While often successful, complete cryoablation of cancerous tissues sometimes fails due to technical challenges. Factors such as the end temperature, cooling rate, duration of the freezing episode, and repetition of the freezing cycle have been reported to influence cryosurgical outcome.

Cryoablation of renal cancer: variables involved in freezing-induced cell death.

The detection of renal tumors has increased significantly over recent years resulting in a greater demand for novel, minimally invasive techniques. Cryoablation has emerged as a valuable treatment modality for the management of renal cancer. In an effort to detail the effects of freezing in renal cancer, the human renal cancer (RCC) cell line, 786-O, was evaluated in vitro.