Cryopreserved organ culture of endocrine glands for hormonal insufficiency treatment
Ievgen Legach, Galyna Bozhok & Tatyana Bondarenko
Transplantation of endocrine cell/tissue can be considered as an alternative method of treatment for hormonal insufficiency (type I diabetes, hypocorticism, hypothyroidism, hypogonadism). Compared with replacement therapy transplantation of hormonal active cells provides a big advantage, especially, in the cases of individual intolerance or hypersensitivity to hormonal preparations.
In order to make this method of hormone level restoration more preferred in endocrinology, it needs to solve a number of problems including long term preservation of biomaterial.
We developed the method of cryopreservation and implantation of cryopreserved organ culture of endocrine glands. The developed method of transplantation of cryopreserved organ cultures of endocrine glands can be applied in endocrinology, transplantology and biotechnology.
Endocrine glands were crushed up to fragments (0.51 mm3) and cultured during 5 days in 199 medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. Cryopreservation was performed under 7% DMSO. Samples were frozen in plastic 1.5 ml ampoules by the programmed freezer. Transplantation was performed under local anesthesia to subcutaneous fat tissue of anterior abdominal wall by means of injection through Dufos needle in 45 areas.
Combined approach to culture and transplantation allows increase the effectiveness of hypothyroidism, type 1 diabetes mellitus, hypocorticism and androgen deficiency treatment.
Clinical trials. Patient SS, 43 years old. Woman, 1st group invalidity. Diagnosis: rheumatoid arthritis, polyarthritis, I-st grade of the process activity, weakly progressing course of disease, manifested pain syndrome. Secondary adrenal insufficiency. 3 months after transplantation of cryopreserved organ culture of adrenal glands we observed an increase of blood plasma cortisol level, absolute scarring of the ulcer in the ankle joint, rheumatic test was negative.