High-viability cryopreservation media for primary hepatocytes

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cryopreserved hepatocytes are widely used in drug development as pharmaceutical companies strive to identify risk pre-clinically and shift product attrition to the earliest stages of drug discovery. Unlike immortalizedcell lines, primary hepatocytes possess the full complement of metabolizing enzymes needed to represent the in vivo environment, making them cost-effective substitutes for expensive animal models in studying hepatotoxicity, drug-drug interactions, and drugmetabolism. Unfortunately, supplies of fresh hepatocytes are greatly limited by donor availability. In addition, hepatocytes should be used within 5 hours of isolation, as signaling pathways that normally suppress apoptosis are disrupted when integrin-mediated binding to the extracellular matrix is eliminated. Cryopreservation alleviates the problems associated with time constraints and donor tissue availability. However, hepatocytes respond poorly when cryopreserved using current technology. Hepatocy