CROWE, John H.; CROWE, Lois M.; TABLIN, Fern; Univ. of California, Davis; Univ. of California, Davis; Univ. of California, Davis: Stabilization of Dry Mammalian Cells: Lessons from Nature

Trehalose is a sugar found at high concentrations in a wide variety of organisms that survive dehydration in nature. Over the past three decades we have shown that trehalose has the ability to stabilize membranes and proteins in the dry state, and we and others have established the mechanism underlying this stabilization. A myth has grown up about special properties of this sugar; we will discuss which parts of this myth and are true and which should be discarded. In recent years we have found a simple way to introduce trehalose into mammalian cells and have shown that the trehalose-loaded cells can be dried successfully. For example, human blood platelets have a lifetime in blood banks of 3-5 days, after which they are discarded. When trehalose-loaded platelets are freeze-dried, we obtain about 90% recovery, and the rehydrated platelets respond normally to agonists. Further, cell surface markers for membrane stability are intact, pH and Ca regulatory mechanisms are normal, and morphology is near-normal. The dry platelets have a shelf life of at least two years, during which no loss of platelets was detected. Animal trials are in progress, and we anticipate human clinical trials to commence in 2005. We suggest that these findings emphasize the importance of fundamental research in human welfare. Supported by grants from NSF, NIH, and DARPA.