スミソニアン国立動物園のインスタグラム(smithsonianzoo) - 12月28日 02時10分

🔬Scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) have preserved complex ovarian tissues in domestic cats above freezing temperatures by dehydrating them with the help of microwaves. Over the past five years, scientists have been able to successfully dehydrate single cells, but this is the first time it has been done in ovarian tissues, which contain thousands of different cells with various functions, including eggs at the early developmental stage.
Researchers adapted the concept from invertebrate species that survive dry conditions or drought by producing trehalose in their cells. Trehalose is a natural sugar that forms a stable and protective glass within and around the cells when water content gets very low. Mammalian tissues do not have the same capacity, therefore researchers ‘infused’ the tissues with a solution of trehalose. Once they made sure that trehalose had permeated the cells, scientists then progressively removed water from the tissue samples by microwaving without damaging them. The tissues could then be stored above freezing temperatures at 4 degrees Celsius. Scientists were able to rehydrate the samples by simply adding water back to them. Ongoing studies are focusing on the tissue resilience and refinement of the technique.
Scientists have been preserving gonadal tissues, sperm, eggs and embryos for decades by freezing them in liquid nitrogen tanks or specialized freezers, then thawing the samples when they want to use them. However, liquid nitrogen is expensive and needs to be replenished regularly. If samples were dried and stored at room temperatures, many more scientists around the world could easily preserve reproductive tissues of endangered species. Those tissues could be used to produce gametes and create embryos, which would increase genetic diversity in very small populations.
The findings also could also one day help human cancer patients. Female cancer patients could store their own dehydrated ovarian tissues while they are receiving treatment (much more convenient and less expensive than frozen storage) and use those tissues for procedures like IVF after cancer treatment. #WeSaveSpecies

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