Cryopreservation in trehalose preserves functional capacity of murine spermatogonial stem cells

PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e54889. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054889. Epub 2013 Jan 22.

Abstract

Development of techniques to isolate, culture, and transplant human spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) has the future potential to treat male infertility. To maximize the efficiency of these techniques, methods for SSC cryopreservation need to be developed to bank SSCs for extended periods of time. Although, it has been demonstrated that SSCs can reinitiate spermatogenesis after freezing, optimal cryopreservation protocols that maximize SSC proliferative capacity post-thaw have not been identified. The objective of this study was to develop an efficient cryopreservation technique for preservation of SSCs. To identify efficient cryopreservation methods for long-term preservation of SSCs, isolated testis cells enriched for SSCs were placed in medium containing dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or DMSO and trehalose (50 mM, 100 mM, or 200 mM), and frozen in liquid nitrogen for 1 week, 1 month, or 3 months. Freezing in 50 mM trehalose resulted in significantly higher cell viability compared to DMSO at all thawing times and a higher proliferation rate compared to DMSO for the 1 week freezing period. Freezing in 200 mM trehalose did not result in increased cell viability; however, proliferation activity was significantly higher and percentage of apoptotic cells was significantly lower compared to DMSO after freezing for 1 and 3 months. To confirm the functionality of SSCs frozen in 200 mM trehalose, SSC transplantation was performed. Donor SSCs formed spermatogenic colonies and sperm capable of generating normal progeny. Collectively, these results indicate that freezing in DMSO with 200 mM trehalose serves as an efficient method for the cryopreservation of SSCs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Cryopreservation*
  • Cryoprotective Agents / pharmacology*
  • Humans
  • Infertility, Male / physiopathology
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Spermatogonia* / cytology
  • Spermatogonia* / drug effects
  • Spermatogonia* / growth & development
  • Spermatozoa / cytology
  • Spermatozoa / drug effects
  • Spermatozoa / physiology
  • Stem Cells / cytology*
  • Stem Cells / drug effects
  • Trehalose / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Cryoprotective Agents
  • Trehalose

Grants and funding

This work has been supported by the Next-Generation BioGreen 21 Program (No.PJ0080482012) and Rural Development Administration, a National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2012-0006786). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.