Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 2 Bioinspired Engineering and Biomechanics Centre (BEBC), Xi'an Jiaotong University, People's Republic of China
  • 3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 4 Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
J Tissue Eng Regen Med, 2017 08;11(8):2217-2226.
PMID: 26756982 DOI: 10.1002/term.2120

Abstract

Cryopreservation represents an efficient way to preserve human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) at early culture/passage, and allows pooling of cells to achieve sufficient cells required for off-the-shelf use in clinical applications, e.g. cell-based therapies and regenerative medicine. To fully apply cryopreserved hMSCs in a clinical setting, it is necessary to evaluate their biosafety, e.g. chromosomal abnormality and tumourigenic potential. To date, many studies have demonstrated that cryopreserved hMSCs display no chromosomal abnormalities. However, the tumourigenic potential of cryopreserved hMSCs has not yet been evaluated. In the present study, we cryopreserved human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hASCs) for 3 months, using a slow freezing method with various cryoprotective agents (CPAs), followed by assessment of the tumourigenic potential of the cryopreserved hASCs after thawing and subculture. We found that long-term cryopreserved hASCs maintained normal levels of the tumour suppressor markers p53, p21, p16 and pRb, hTERT, telomerase activity and telomere length. Further, we did not observe significant DNA damage or signs of p53 mutation in cryopreserved hASCs. Our findings suggest that long-term cryopreserved hASCs are at low risk of tumourigenesis. These findings aid in establishing the biosafety profile of cryopreserved hASCs, and thus establishing low hazardous risk perception with the use of long-term cryopreserved hASCs for future clinical applications. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.