Involvement of the Cysteine Protease Calpain Family in Cell Death After Cryopreservation

Abstract

Recent focus of the phenomenon of cryopreservation-induced delayed-onset cell death (CIDOCD) has been linked to molecular-based cellular responses. Current literature suggests that along with caspases, additional proteases such as calpains may also play integral roles in cell death. Although the regulation and activation of calpains is not fully understood, it is becoming increasingly clear that they are involved in a wide variety of cellular events including cell death and cell adhesion. In this study we investigated the involvement that the calpain family of proteases has on cell death and cell adhesion during cryopreservation (CP) and the subsequent recovery period. It was hypothesized that a CP-dependent activation of the calpain cascade would contribute to the activation and progression of the events associated with CIDOCD, and by modulating this activity more successful CP could be achieved. Our data show a CP-induced change in the activation of the calpain proteolytic pathway, a 10% to 15% improvem...