Alternatives to DMSO
Question: I have heard you talk previously and you always mention the need to find alternatives to dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), why? Everybody uses it for preserving cells. Why do we need the alternative?
Answer: The full answer to this is rather long so I will try to summarize the issues as briefly as possible. Many cells are used for therapeutic application. Typically, cells frozen in DMSO are thawed at the patient's bedside and infused directly into the patient. Clinical studies documenting the adverse reactions associated with infusion of DMSO indicate that nearly all patients experience mild adverse reactions-a small number experience more serious adverse reactions. Most physicians will just recommend giving the patient medication to ameliorate the adverse effects. Most patients however will tell you that the adverse reactions to DMSO were very unpleasant and in fact, some patients will tell you that the adverse reactions are the worst part of the process for a bone marrow transplant (that is saying a lot). Removing the DMSO is time consuming and labor intensive and results in a significant loss of cells.
The development of alternatives to DMSO will also be driven by development of new therapies. For example, there are cell therapies being developed that will require multiple infusions of cells. If the cells are frozen in DMSO, this may result in teh repeated infusion of DMSO into the patient. It is unlikely that regulatory bodies will find this acceptable. Therefore alternatives to DMSO will be needed.
In addition, DMSO is associated with epigenetic effects on cells. For embryonic stem cells preserved using DMSO, these effects result in larger fraction of cells differentiating. It will be important to establish alternative cryoprotective agents taht do not alter cell behavior and potentially biomarker expression.
