Abstract
Suspensions of leukemic cells of mice from three different strains of leukemia were subjected to rapid or slow freezing and rapid or slow thawing. Suspensions rapidly frozen to –196°C. were in all cases innocuous, whereas those frozen slowly were capable of transmitting leukemia. The infectivity of slowly frozen material varied from an estimated 0.0001 per cent to 1 per cent of that of fresh material, and this figure probably represents the percentage of surviving leukemic cells. Particles of spleen and lymph node reacted to slow and rapid freezing in the same manner as suspensions prepared from them. For one of the strains rapid thawing was less injurious than slow thawing; for the other two the rate of thawing seemed to be immaterial. Infectivity was equally well preserved after freezing to –21°C. whether freezing occurred spontaneously after supercooling or was initiated near the freezing point by inoculation with ice, or whether thawing was slow or rapid. Suspensions already slowly frozen at temperatures of –2° or lower, whether spontaneously or by inoculation with ice, could no longer be completely inactivated by subsequent rapid cooling to –196°C. Unfrozen suspensions initially above the freezing point or supercooled to –2°C. or –8°C. and then rapidly cooled to –196°C. were inactivated. This protective action of previous slow freezing was most marked when the initial temperature of the frozen suspension was –15°C. or lower; when it was –2°C. protection was barely detected. These observations indicate that the changes which are peculiar to rapid freezing alone and lead to complete inactivation take place during rapid transition from the liquid to the solid state, in a range of temperature lying between –15°C. and the freezing point. Temperature measurements carried out in this range showed that suspensions were about equally infections whether the temperature at their centers dropped from 0°C. to –15°C. in 30 minutes or in 1 minute; when the drop occurred in 12 seconds or less, the suspensions became innocuous.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1.0 MB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Breedis C., Furth J. THE FEASIBILITY OF PRESERVING NEOPLASTIC CELLS IN THE FROZEN STATE. Science. 1938 Dec 2;88(2292):531–532. doi: 10.1126/science.88.2292.531. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Furth J. TRANSMISSION OF MYELOID LEUKEMIA OF MICE : ITS RELATION TO MYELOMA. J Exp Med. 1935 Feb 28;61(3):423–446. doi: 10.1084/jem.61.3.423. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lambert R. A. THE INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE AND FLUID MEDIUM ON THE SURVIVAL OF EMBRYONIC TISSUES IN VITRO. J Exp Med. 1913 Oct 1;18(4):406–411. doi: 10.1084/jem.18.4.406. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Luyet B. J., Thoennes G. THE SURVIVAL OF PLANT CELLS IMMERSED IN LIQUID AIR. Science. 1938 Sep 23;88(2282):284–285. doi: 10.1126/science.88.2282.284. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Richter M. N., Macdowell E. C. STUDIES ON MOUSE LEUKEMIA : VII. THE RELATION OF CELL DEATH TO THE POTENCY OF INOCULATED CELL SUSPENSIONS. J Exp Med. 1933 Jan 1;57(1):1–20. doi: 10.1084/jem.57.1.1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rivers T. M. EFFECT OF REPEATED FREEZING (-185 degrees C.) AND THAWING ON COLON BACILLI, VIRUS III, VACCINE VIRUS, HERPES VIRUS, BACTERIOPHAGE, COMPLEMENT, AND TRYPSIN. J Exp Med. 1927 Jan 1;45(1):11–21. doi: 10.1084/jem.45.1.11. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Turner T. B., Brayton N. L. FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SURVIVAL OF SPIROCHETES IN THE FROZEN STATE. J Exp Med. 1939 Nov 30;70(6):639–650. doi: 10.1084/jem.70.6.639. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Turner T. B., Fleming W. L. PROLONGED MAINTENANCE OF SPIROCHETES AND FILTRABLE VIRUSES IN THE FROZEN STATE. J Exp Med. 1939 Nov 30;70(6):629–637. doi: 10.1084/jem.70.6.629. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Turner T. B. THE PRESERVATION OF VIRULENT TREPONEMA PALLIDUM AND TREPONEMA PERTENUE IN THE FROZEN STATE; WITH A NOTE ON THE PRESERVATION OF FILTRABLE VIRUSES. J Exp Med. 1938 Jan 1;67(1):61–78. doi: 10.1084/jem.67.1.61. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]