Cryopreservation: a chance for highly endangered mammals

Successful cryopreservation of ovarian tissue of wild cats is a key element for the establishment of genome resource banks, an important tool for the preservation of genetic diversity. All felid species except for the domestic cats are listed on the Red List for endangered species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
 
Adapting a freezing procedure developed in human medicine as their model, scientists at the Department of Reproduction Biology of the IZW developed a method for cryopreserving the ovarian cortex of different cat species.
 
In the human procedure, ovarian tissue of women who suffer from cancer is removed to avoid its damage by chemotherapy or radiotherapy. After successful tumor treatment the tissue is re-transplanted so that the normal female cycle, including fertility, can be restored. In the meantime, the tissue is conserved in liquid nitrogen.
 
The particular challenge in the cryopreservation of ovarian cortex tissue comes from the fact that the cells are embedded in a very complex system. Ovarian cortex is composed of immature oocytes surrounded by small somatic cells, different connective tissue and blood vessel cells. In addition, the cellular properties of every species are unique, thus it not possible to develop a common freezing procedure applicable to all species.
 
For the cat cells, the scientists of the IZW worked out a “slow” freezing protocol. The cortex was dissected into evenly chopped pieces, each 2 mm in diameter. The cellular material was frozen at a speed of 0.3 degrees per minute. Ethylene glycol and saccharose were used as cryoprotectant agents. To demonstrate their survival after thawing the ovaries, the cortex was cultured in a medium for up to 14 days before and after the freezing.