Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Jun;46(3):188-196.
doi: 10.1159/000496068. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

Cryopreservation of Hematopoietic Stem Cells: Emerging Assays, Cryoprotectant Agents, and Technology to Improve Outcomes

Kathlyn Hornberger  1 , Guanglin Yu  2 , David McKenna  3 , Allison Hubel  2
Affiliations
Review

Cryopreservation of Hematopoietic Stem Cells: Emerging Assays, Cryoprotectant Agents, and Technology to Improve Outcomes

Kathlyn Hornberger et al. Transfus Med Hemother. 2019 Jun.

Abstract

Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) therapy is widely used to treat a growing number of hematological and non-hematological diseases. Cryopreservation of HSCs allows for cells to be transported from the site of processing to the site of clinical use, creates a larger window of time in which cells can be administered to patients, and allows sufficient time for quality control and regulatory testing. Currently, HSCs and other cell therapies conform to the same cryopreservation techniques as cells used for research purposes: cells are cryopreserved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at a slow cooling rate. As a result, HSC therapy can result in numerous adverse symptoms in patients due to the infusion of DMSO. Efforts are being made to improve the cryopreservation of HSCs for clinical use. This review discusses advances in the cryopreservation of HSCs from 2007 to the present. The preclinical development of new cryoprotectants and new technology to eliminate cryoprotectants after thawing are discussed in detail. Additional cryopreservation considerations are included, such as cooling rate, storage temperature, and cell concentration. Preclinical cell assessment and quality control are discussed, as well as clinical studies from the past decade that focus on new cryopreservation protocols to improve patient outcomes.

Keywords: Cryopreservation; Dimethyl sulfoxide; Freezing; Hematopoietic stem cells; Storage.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Thomas ED, Lochte HL, Jr, Lu WC, Ferrebee JW. Intravenous infusion of bone marrow in patients receiving radiation and chemotherapy. N Engl J Med. 1957 Sep;257((11)):491–6. - PubMed
    1. Chabannon C, Kuball J, Bondanza A, Dazzi F, Pedrazzoli P, Toubert A, et al. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in its 60s: A platform for cellular therapies. Sci Transl Med. 2018 Apr;10((436)):1–11. - PubMed
    1. Bhatia M, Sheth S. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in sickle cell disease: patient selection and special considerations. J Blood Med. 2015 Jul;6:229–38. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gratwohl A, Pasquini MC, Aljurf M, Atsuta Y, Baldomero H, Foeken L, et al. Worldwide Network for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (WBMT) One million haemopoietic stem-cell transplants: a retrospective observational study. Lancet Haematol. 2015 Mar;2((3)):e91–100. - PubMed
    1. Sullivan KM, Goldmuntz EA, Keyes-Elstein L, McSweeney PA, Pinckney A, Welch B, et al. SCOT Study Investigators Myeloablative autologous stem-cell transplantation for severe scleroderma. N Engl J Med. 2018 Jan;378((1)):35–47. - PMC - PubMed