In Vitro Assessment of Apoptosis and Necrosis Following Cold Storage in a Human Airway Cell Model

As advances in medical technology improve the efficacy of cell and tissue transplantation, a void remains in our knowledge base as to the specific molecular responses of cells to low-temperature storage. While much focus has been given to solution formulation for tissue perfusion during storage, investigations into cold exposure-induced complex molecular changes remain limited. The intent of this study was to quantify the levels of cell death following hypothermic storage in a lung cell model, establishing a foundation for future in-depth molecular analysis. Normal human lung fibroblasts (IMR-90) were stored for 1 day or 2 days and small airway epithelial cells (SAEC) were stored for 5 days or 7 days at 4°C in complete media, ViaSpan, or ViaSpan + pan-caspase (VI) inhibitor. (Poststorage viability was assessed for 3 days using alamarBlue™.) Sample analysis revealed that IMR-90 cells stored in ViaSpan remained 80% (±9) viable after 1 day of storage and 21% (±7) viable after 2 days of storage. SAEC cells st...