Dimethyl Sulfoxide: A Central Player Since the Dawn of Cryobiology, is Efficacy Balanced by Toxicity?

Abstract

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is the cryoprotectant of choice for most animal cell systems since the early history of cryopreservation. It has been used for decades in many thousands of cell transplants. These treatments would not have taken place without suitable sources of DMSO that enabled stable and safe storage of bone marrow and blood cells until needed for transfusion. Nevertheless, its effects on cell biology and apparent toxicity in patients have been an ongoing topic of debate, driving the search for less cytotoxic cryoprotectants. This review seeks to place the toxicity of DMSO in context of its effectiveness. It will also consider means of reducing its toxic effects, the alternatives to its use and their readiness for active use in clinical settings.

Umbilical cord blood stem cells: clinical application of allogeneic material, problems and perspectives of banking

“…На жаль, сьогодні однією з найбільших проблем спеціалізованої медичної допомоги в Україні залишається впровадження алогенної неродинної трансплантації, про що свідчить і офіційна статистика [97]. Для її найшвидшого вирішення є всі передумови як професійного, так й інституційного характеру: сильні наукові традиції, школи, історичний досвід і сучасна практика успішних трансплантацій, професійні команди фахівців, які забезпечують увесь процес (від створення технологій для кріобанків до функціонування розвинених центрів транплантації [6,10,11,14,15], що є значним потенціалом для запуску національної програми з трансплантації ГСК із дієвим реєстром неродинних донорів і суспільним банком гістотипованої ПК у його склад, звісно, за умови ефективної державної підтримки.…”

“…Due to its high protective effi ciency, today DMSO remains the most widely used CPA to store the HSCs. Usually 5-10% concentration is used for UCB [6,18,54,109,118]. When choosing the DMSO concentration, it is necessary to take into account its toxicity to the graft cells and the recipient organism.…”

Towards Reduction or Substitution of Cytotoxic DMSO in Biobanking of Functional Bioengineered Megakaryocytes

“…Cryopreservation with 10% DMSO showed statistically similar survival compared to cryopreservation with 5% DMSO (data not shown). The lower concentration was selected for the further experiments since it is generally preferred to reduce the DMSO concentration in cryopreservation media due to cytotoxicity [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 56 ]. Importantly, it was observed, that even the native (non-cryopreserved) cells harvested from the MK differentiation cultures had no more than 74.25% ± 6.95% of viable cells.…”

“…Among the obligatory requirements to clinically relevant biobanking the key role belongs to the compatibility with good manufacturing practice and good laboratory practice standards, which assumes application of serum- and xeno-free protocols throughout the process. Besides, serious clinical safety concerns are currently being associated with the use of DMSO during cryopreservation [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ]. Therefore, these issues were particularly addressed as the core of this study.…”

“…Additionally, here we explored the potential of alternative to DMSO CPAs, chosen on the basis of previous data on cryopreservation efficiency, membrane permeability, and levels of cytotoxicity on the other cell types [ 23 , 25 , 26 , 31 , 36 ]. In particular, we were able to achieve highly efficient outcome in preserving viability, phenotype, and functionality of MKs with application of EG and PD.…”