Expedited Award for Novel Research: The Use of Antifreeze Glycopeptides from Antarctic Fish to Modify the Freezing Pattern in Mammalian Organs

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The lack of success to date in preservation of mammalian organs in a frozen state is attributable to the disruption of the structural integrity of blood vessels caused by vasculature expansion during freezing, such that the organ becomes non- functional. As an organ is being frozen, ice first forms in the blood vessels, excluding solutes into the yet unfrozen intravascular water from nearby cells, resulting in the expansion of the vasculature. To modify this detrimental freezing pattern, a novel method is proposed to freeze in the presence of special antifreeze glycopeptides from the blood of Antarctic fish. The glycopeptides entrap excluded solutes within channels in the ice structures, and thus reduce or prevent efflux of intracellular water. Freezing experiments will be done on a directional solidification stage, and tissue histology will be examined using a low termperature scanning electron microscope. The long term preservation of whole organs would significantly alter transplant procedures and increase the availability of vital organs for needy patients. If the proposed hypothesis is confirmed, the possibility of preserving whole livers by freezing will be greatly enhanced.