A Method for the Cryopreservation of Liver Parenchymal Cells for Studies of Xenobiotics

Abstract An optimized computer-controlled freezing protocol for the cryopreservation of rat liver parenchymal cells was developed. The best survival rates were obtained when a slow cooling rate was used and when the supercooling was interrupted with a shock cooling to initiate ice nucleation. Ten percent dimethyl sulfoxide was added and removed gradually for best results. Thawed rat liver parenchymal cells had a viability, as judged by trypan blue exclusion, of 69% (SD = 6) versus 82% (SD = 7) for freshly isolated cells. The content and activities of the xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes, cytochrome P450. UDP-glucuronosyl transferase, and microsomal and cytosolic epoxide hydrolase, were not a…