Functional recovery of the adult murine hippocampus after cryopreservation by vitrification
Abstract
Cryopreserving the adult brain is challenging due to damage from ice formation, and traditional freezing methods fail to maintain neural architecture and function. Vitrification offers a promising alternative but has not been surveyed in the brain. Here, we demonstrate short-term recovery of the adult murine hippocampus after vitrification of brain slices and of the whole brain in situ. Key features of the hippocampus are preserved, including structural integrity, metabolic responsiveness, neuronal excitability, and synaptic transmission and plasticity. Notably, hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) was well preserved, indicating that the cellular machinery of learning and memory remains operational. These findings extend known biophysical limits for cerebral hypothermic shutdown by demonstrating recovery after complete cessation of molecular mobility in the vitreous state and thus contribute to achieving the objective of structural and functional preservation of neural tissue.
Article Details
Journal Info
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences
Authors (9)
Alexander German
Department of Molecular Neurology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Enes Yağız Akdaş
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Cassandra Flügel-Koch
Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Ezgi Erterek
Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Renato Frischknecht
Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Anna Fejtova
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Jürgen Winkler
Department of Molecular Neurology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Christian Alzheimer
Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Fang Zheng
Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg