FEBS Open Bio. 2019 Oct 23. doi: 10.1002/2211-5463.12748. [Epub ahead of print]

Improving the viability of tissue-resident stem cells using an organ-preservation solution.

Suzuki T¹, Ota C², Fujino N³, Tando Y⁴, Suzuki S⁵, Yamada M³, Kondo T¹, Okada Y¹, Kubo H⁶.

Abstract

Human clinical specimens are a valuable source of tissue-resident stem cells,but such cells need to be collected immediately after tissue collection.To extend the time scale for collection from fresh human samples, we developed a new extracellular fluid-type (ECF-type) preservation solution based on a high-sodium and low-potassium solution containing low-molecular-weight dextran and glucose, which is used for preservation of organs for transplantation. In this study, we compared the preservation of tissue-resident stem cells using our ECF solution with that using three other solutions: phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) and Euro-Collins solution. These solutions represent a common buffer, a common culture medium, and a benchmark organ-preservation solution, respectively. Lung tissues were removed from mice and preserved for 72 h under low-temperature conditions. Of the solutions tested, only preservation in the ECF-type solution could maintain the proliferation and differentiation capacity of mouse lung tissue-resident stem cells. In addition, the ECF solution could preserve the viability and proliferation of human alveolar epithelial progenitor cells when stored for more than 7 days at 4ͦC. The mean viability of human alveolar type II cells at 2, 5, 8, and 14 days of low-temperature preservation was 90.9%, 84.8%, 85.7%, and 66.3%, respectively, with no significant differences up to 8 days. Overall, our findings show that use of our ECF-type preservation solution may maintain the viability and function of tissue-resident stem cells. Use of this preservation solution may facilitate the investigation of currently unobtainable human tissue specimens for human stem cell biology.