Induction of Apoptosis in Response to Anhydrobiotic Conditions in Mammalian Cells

Abstract

Within many biomedical engineering subspecialties, there is a need for the reversible developmental arrest of cells and tissues in support of global distribution followed by on-demand restoration of cellular function (biopreservation). Recently, the field of anhydrobiotic (dry-state) preservation has emerged as a potential approach to achieve this goal. To date, investigations have focused on different approaches utilizing stabilizing molecules, such as trehalose, to achieve anhydrobiotic preservation, yet there remains a void in the understanding of the molecular-based physiological and biochemical responses of biologics to the desiccation process. Accordingly, we formulated and tested the hypothesis that apoptosis contributes to cell death following anhydrobiotic preservation through the activation of multiple pathways by the complex array of stressors associated with the desiccation process. In addition, we investigated the modulation of cell death following desiccation, hypothesizing that through inhi...