Viability of deformed cells implicated in extracellular ice formation

摘要

Recent studies show that during slow freezing of cells, in addition to chemical damage, the cells may be also injured by mechanical damage induced by ice crystal compression. A new experimental procedure was employed to develop a quantitative understanding of cell destruction by deformation with two parallel surfaces. The viability of deformed cells (prostatic carcinoma cells) was measured at 0 °C, 23 °C and 37 °C, and six different nominal gaps between 32.3 μm and 3.5 μm. The relation between measured viability and gap size for 0 °C and 23 °C are identical. This may suggest that deformation damage is not related to the mechanical properties of the lipid membrane but the deformation of the cytoskelton.