Molecular Mechanisms of Cellular Demise Associated with Cryopreservation Failure

Abstract

Current preservation strategies range from the storage of cells, tissues, and organs for hours at hypothermic temperatures (from 25°C to 4°C) to extended periods of time (i.e., years) at ultralow, subfreezing temperatures (-80°C or below). Biologic preservation serves many practical and useful purposes in today's society, ranging from the storage of biological material for research to preservation for use in medical transplantation procedures. Regardless of the end use, the goal of preservation is to extend the window of biological function. In the pursuit of the development of improved biopreservation methodologies, recent investigations have implicated the activation of genetically programmed cell death, apoptosis, and pathological cell death, necrosis, as limiting factors. Accordingly, we review the field of cryopreservation and apoptosis in an effort to provide a guide for future evaluations into the role of apoptosis in cryopreservation failure.