Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Vitrification of Human Embryonic Stem Cells

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Vitrification in Assisted Reproduction

  • 850 Accesses

Abstract

Pluripotent human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have an unlimited capacity for self-renewal and, in culture, to maintain their pluripotent capacity to differentiate into cell types from all three germ layers. Hundreds of stem cell lines have been derived worldwide from blastocysts of fresh and cryopreserved supernumerary embryos as well as from morula. Human embryonic stem cells hold tremendous promise as not only a tool for understanding disease, toxicology, and drug discovery but also as a basis for cell-based therapies for a wide range of human diseases including Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes and gene, cardiac, and vascular therapy, and tissue engineering. The adoption of the vitrification method as the predominant cryopreservation method for hESCs is largely due to the definitive success of oocyte and embryo vitrification in the world. The vitrification protocols were very similar, all derived from the Kuwayama’s work developed for bovine ova and embryos and modified by Reubinoff for application to hESCs. Nowadays there are methods allowing an increase in the quantity of hESCs preserved at any one time, being big steps for a closer commercial scale-up. While the process is routine for hematopoietic stem cells and largely worked out for mesenchymal stem cells, at least for autologous use, now it is time to explore hESCs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Hunt CJ. Cryopreservation of human stem cells for clinical application: a review. Transfus Med Hemother. 2011;38:107–23. doi:10.1159/000326623.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Bongso A, Fong C-Y, Ng SC, Ratnam S. Isolation and culture of inner mass cells from human blastocysts. Hum Reprod. 1994;9:2110–7.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Thomson J, Itskovitz-Eldor J, Shapiro SS, Waknitz MA, Swiergeil JJ, Marshall VS, Jones JM. Embryonic stem cell lines derived from human blastocysts. Science. 1998;282:1145–7.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Reubinoff BE, Pera MF, Fong C-Y, Trounson A, Bongso A. Embryonic stem cell lines from human blastocysts: somatic differentiation in vitro. Nat Biotechnol. 2000;18:399–404.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Strelchenko N, Verlinsky O, Kukharenko V, Verlinsky Y. Morula-derived human embryonic stem cells. Reprod Biomed Online. 2004;9:623–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Klimanskaya I, Chung Y, Becker S, Lu SJ, Lanza R. Human embryonic stem cell lines derived from single blastomeres. Nature. 2006;444:481–5.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Zhang X, Stojkovic P, Przyborsjki S, Cooke M, Armstrong L, Lako M, Stojkovic M. Derivation of human embryonic stem cells from developing and arrested embryos. Stem Cells. 2006;12:2669–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Pickering SJ, Braude PR, Patel M, Burns CJ, Trussler J, Bolton V, Minger S. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis as a novel source of embryos for stem cell research. Reprod Biomed Online. 2003;7:353–64.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Aran B, Sole M, Rodriguez-Pizá I, Parriego M, Muñoz Y, Boada M, et al. Vitrified blastocysts from preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) as a source for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) derivation. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2012;29:1013–20. doi:10.1007/s10815-012-9820-0.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Stocum DL, Zupanc GK. Stretching the limits: stem cells in regeneration science. Dev Dyn. 2008;237:3648–71.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Thomson H. Bioprocessing of embryonic stem cells for drug discovery. Trends Biotechnol. 2007;25:224–30.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Gokhale BI, Andrews PW. High-content screening of small compounds on human embryonic stem cells. Biochem Soc Trans. 2010;38:1046–50.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Toh WS, Lee EH, Cao T. Potential of human embryonic stem cells in cartilage tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Stem Cell Rev. 2011;7(3):544–59. doi:10.1007/s12015-010-9222-6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Seong JM, Kim BC, Park JH, Kwon IK, Mantalaris A, Hwang YS. Stem cells in bone engineering. Biomed Mater. 2010;5:062001. doi:10.1088/1748-6041/5/6/062001.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Lerou PH, Lerou PH, Daley GQ. Therapeutic potential of embryonic stem cells. Blood Rev. 2005;19:321–31.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Strulovici Y, Leopold PL, O’Connor TP, Pergolizzi RG, Crystal RG. Human embryonic stem cells and gene therapy. Mol Ther. 2007;15:850–66.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Arenas E. Towards stem cell replacement therapies for Parkinson’s disease. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2010;396:152–6.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Dantuma E, Merchant S, Sugaya K. Stem cells for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Stem Cell Res Ther. 2010;1:37.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Joyce N, Annett G, Wirthlin L, Olson S, Bauer G, Nolta JA. Mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease. Regen Med. 2010;5:933–46.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Heit JJ, Kim SK. Embryonic stem cells and islet replacement in diabetes mellitus. Pediatr Diabetes. 2004;5:5–15.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Wagner RT, Lewis J, Cooney A, Chan L. Stem cell approaches for the treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus. Transl Res. 2010;156:169–79.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Caspi O, Gepstein L. Regenerating the heart using human embryonic stem cells – from cell to bedside. Isr Med Assoc J. 2006;8:208–14.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Kusuma S, Gerecht S. Engineering blood vessels using stem cells: innovative approaches to treat vascular disorders. Expert Rev Cardiovasc Ther. 2010;8:1433–45.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Alper J. Geron gets green light for human trial of ES cell-derived product. Nat Biotechnol. 2009;27:213–4.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Reubinoff BE, Pera MF, Vajta G, Trounson AO. Effective cryopreservation of human embryonic stem cells by the open pulled straw vitrification method. Hum Reprod. 2001;16:2187–94.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Zhou CQ, Mai QY, Li T, Zhaung GJ. Cryopreservation of human embryonic stem cells by vitrification. Chin Med J (Engl). 2004;117:1050–5.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Richards M, Fong CY, Tan S, Chan WK, Bongso A. An efficient and safe xeno-free cryopreservation method for the storage of human embryonic stem cells. Stem Cells. 2004;22:779–89.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Vajta G, Holm P, Kuwayama M, Booth PJ, Jacobsen H, Greve T, Callensen H. Open pulled straw (OPS) vitrification: a new way to reduce cryoinjuries of bovine ova and embryos. Mol Reprod Dev. 1999;51:53–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Li Y, Tan J, Li L. Comparison of three methods for cryopreservation of human embryonic stem cells. Fertil Steril. 2008;93:999–1005. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.10.052.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Zhang XB, Li K, Yau KH, Tsang KS, Fok TF, Li CK. Trehalose ameliorates the cryopreservation of cord blood in a preclinical system and increases the recovery of CFUs, long-term culture-initiating cells, and nonobese diabetic-SCID repopulating cells. Transfusion. 2003;43:265–72.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Ha SY, Jee BC, Suh CS, Kim HS, Oh SK, Kim SH, Moon SY. Cryopreservation of human embryonic stem cells without the use of a programmable freezer. Hum Reprod. 2005;20:1779–85.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Katkov II, Kim MS, Bajpai R, Altman YS, Mercola M, Loring JF. Cryopreservation by slow cooling with DMSO diminished production of Oct-4 pluripotency marker in human embryonic stem cells. Cryobiology. 2006;53:194–205.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Nie Y, Bergendahl V, Hei DJ, Jones JM, Palecek SP. Scalable culture and cryopreservation of human embryonic stem cells on microcarriers. Biotechnol Prog. 2009;25:20–31.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  34. Li T, Mai Q, Gao J, Zhou C. Cryopreservation of human embryonic stem cells with a bulk vitrification method. Biol Reprod. 2010;82:848–53.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Malpique R, Tostões R, Beier A, Serra M, Brito C, Schulz J, et al. Surface-based cryopreservation strategies for human embryonic stem cells: a comparative study. Biotechnol Prog. 2012;4:1079–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Heng BC, Bested SM, Chan SW, Cao T. A proposed design for the cryopreservation of intact and adherent human embryonic stem cell colonies. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Anim. 2005;41:77–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Li T, Zhou C, Liu C, Mai Q, Zhuang G. Bulk vitrification of human embryonic stem cells. Hum Reprod. 2008;23:358–64.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Coopman K. Large-scale compatible methods for the preservation of human embryonic stem cells: current perspectives. Biotechnol Prog. 2011;6:1511–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Thanks to DVM Sergio Morado for his language assistance.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Research and Technology Institute in Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Sciences – University of Buenos Aires – Argentina, Chorroarín 280, Buenos Aires, 1427, Argentina

    Gabriel Carlos Dalvit DVM, PhD

Authors
  1. Gabriel Carlos Dalvit DVM, PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gabriel Carlos Dalvit DVM, PhD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Rotunda, The Centre for Human Reproduction, Mumbai, India

    Gautam Allahbadia

  2. Repro-Support Medical Research Centre, Tokyo, Japan

    Masashige Kuwayama

  3. Rotunda, The Center for Human Reproduction, Mumbai, India

    Goral Gandhi

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer India

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Dalvit, G.C. (2015). Vitrification of Human Embryonic Stem Cells. In: Allahbadia, G., Kuwayama, M., Gandhi, G. (eds) Vitrification in Assisted Reproduction. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1527-1_11

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1527-1_11

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New Delhi

  • Print ISBN: 978-81-322-1526-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-81-322-1527-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation