Cryopreservation of stem cells

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Stem cells are special type of cells which can renew themselves, and can grow into many other cell types. Scientists have found stem cells not only in embryo (so called embryonic stem cells) but also in adults (adult stem cells, e.g from bone marrow). Stem cells could be very useful for tissue/organ repair (e.g brain, heart and other tissue). But in order to apply stem cell based therapies into clinic settings, many technical obstacles must be overcome. One of these is how to preserve stem cells for long term. The most feasible method is cryopreservation. For example, when a baby is born, the stem cells in the cord blood can be collected, separated, frozen and stored at liquid nitrogen temperature (-196 oC). If in later stage in his (or her) life the individual needs stem cells, his (or her) cells can be thawed and (appropriate) therapy can be started. Other types of stem cells can similarly be preserved. The problem is that stem cells do not like low temperatures (not a surprise). They may simply die, or lose some important functions. The additional complexity is that it is not easy to tell what/how many functions are lost. This project focuses on two important questions (1) how to make sure stem cell functions be preserved by using better cryopreservation agents (e.g use of antfreeze proteins protecting fishes in arctic) and thereby adjusting how fast we freeze the cells, and (2) how to detect any damage by using new type of microscope to three dimensionally see inside and around the cells. At the end of the project, we hope we will have optimal cryoprotecting chemical formulation and optical protocols, which can be used by stem cell banks, research laboratories, hospitals and industry.