Cryopreservation of parasites

Abstract

In this review, advances in cryopreservation of helminth parasites are reported. Our own studies demonstrate that metacestodes of Echinococcus multilocularis can be maintained in a viable state for at least 1-2 years by appropriate deep-freezing and storage in liquid nitrogen. Infective larvae of the nematode Toxocara canis cryopreserved for 1 week in liquid nitrogen were maintained after thawing in vitro in a chemically defined medium for 35 weeks. Although motility of previously deep-frozen larvae was reduced they produced secretory/excretory antigens of similar immunodiagnostic quality as those from unfrozen larvae. Whereas infective larvae of several species of trichostrongy-lids can be easily cryopreserved, the infective larvae of the cattle lungworm, Dictyocaulus viviparus, and muscle larvae of Trichinella spiralis are more sensitive to damage by subzero temperatures. Therefore, survival rates after cryopreservation are low, but improvement of the cooling schedules appears to be feasible. It is concluded that cryopreservation of certain stages of helminth and protozoan parasites is a useful technique for long-term storage of defined isolates, which can contribute considerably to reducing the number of experimental animals usually required for serial passages.