Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Thorax logoLink to Thorax
. 1985 Oct;40(10):778–786. doi: 10.1136/thx.40.10.778

Morphology of heart valves preserved by liquid nitrogen freezing.

L C Armiger, R W Thomson, M G Strickett, B G Barratt-Boyes
PMCID: PMC460183  PMID: 4060098

Abstract

As a preliminary to establishing a frozen valve bank for replacement surgery, the possible effects of the proposed freezing and thawing procedure on tissue structure were assessed in 16 human pulmonary valves removed from cadavers at necropsy and nine dog valves obtained fresh. The valves were frozen and stored in liquid nitrogen for intervals ranging from 23 to 380 days. Blocks of tissue cut from the central area of one leaflet, and including some adjacent arterial wall and ventricular myocardium, were obtained both before freezing and after thawing and examined by a large specimen resin embedding technique for light and electron microscopy, with histochemical staining for matrix material. Control and thawed tissue from all valves appeared similar, indicating good preservation irrespective of storage time. Fine structural alterations in the cellular elements correlated with the total interval of autolysis (from death to freezing) rather than the cause of death or other variables and were not uniform in any of the specimens.

Full text

PDF
778

Images in this article

779Image
on p.779
780Image
on p.780
781Image
on p.781
782Image
on p.782
783Image
on p.783
784Image
on p.784
785Image
on p.785
785Image
on p.785

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Angell J. D., Christopher B. S., Hawtrey O., Angell W. M. A fresh, viable human heart valve bank: sterilization, sterility testing, and cryogenic preservation. Transplant Proc. 1976 Jun;8(2 Suppl 1):139–147. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Angell W. W., Angell J. D., Sywak A., Kosek J. C. The tissue valve as a superior cardiac valve replacement. Surgery. 1977 Dec;82(6):875–887. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Angell W. W., DeLanerolle P., Shumway N. E. Valve replacement: present status of homograft valves. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 1973 May-Jun;15(6):589–622. doi: 10.1016/s0033-0620(73)80025-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Angell W. W., Shumway N. E., Kosek J. C. A five-year study of viable aortic valve homografts. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1972 Sep;64(3):329–339. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Barratt-Boyes B. G., Roche A. H. A review of aortic valve homografts over a six and one-half year period. Ann Surg. 1969 Sep;170(3):483–492. doi: 10.1097/00000658-196909010-00016. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Barratt-Boyes B. G., Roche A. H., Whitlock R. M. Six year review of the results of freehand aortic valve replacement using an antibiotic sterilized homograft valve. Circulation. 1977 Feb;55(2):353–361. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.55.2.353. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Bodnar E., Wain W. H., Ross D. N. Homograft valves: is degeneration inevitable? Acta Med Port. 1980 Dec;Suppl 1:147–153. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Ferrans V. J., Spray T. L., Billingham M. E., Roberts W. C. Structural changes in glutaraldehyde-treated porcine heterografts used as substitute cardiac valves. Transmission and scanning electron microscopic observations in 12 patients. Am J Cardiol. 1978 Jun;41(7):1159–1184. doi: 10.1016/0002-9149(78)90873-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Gavin J. B., Barratt-Boyes B. G., Hitchcock G. C., Herdson P. B. Histopathology of "fresh" human aortic valve allografts. Thorax. 1973 Jul;28(4):482–487. doi: 10.1136/thx.28.4.482. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Gavin J. B., Herdson P. B., Monro J. L., Barratt-Boyes B. G. Pathology of antibiotic-treated human heart valve allografts. Thorax. 1973 Jul;28(4):473–481. doi: 10.1136/thx.28.4.473. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Gavin J. B., Monro J. L. The pathology of pulmonary and aortic valve allografts used as mitral valve replacements in dogs. Pathology. 1974 Apr;6(2):119–127. doi: 10.3109/00313027409068975. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Gavin J. B., Monro J. L., Wall F. M., Chalcroft S. C. Fine structural changes in the fibroblasts of canine heart valves prepared for grafting. Thorax. 1973 Nov;28(6):748–755. doi: 10.1136/thx.28.6.748. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Girinath M. R., Gavin J. B., Strickett M. G., Barratt-Boyes B. G. The effects of antibiotics and storage on the viability and ultrastructure of fibroblasts in canine heart valves prepared for grafting. Aust N Z J Surg. 1974 May;44(2):170–172. doi: 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1974.tb06415.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Khan A. A., Gonzalez-Lavin L. Viability assessment of allograft valves by autoradiography. Yale J Biol Med. 1976 Sep;49(4):347–350. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Lockey E., Al-Janabi N., Gonzalez-Lavin L., Ross D. N. A method of sterilizing and preserving fresh allograft heart valves. Thorax. 1972 Jul;27(4):398–400. doi: 10.1136/thx.27.4.398. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. McGregor C. G., Bradley J. F., McGee J. O., Wheatley D. J. Tissue culture, protein and collagen synthesis in antibiotic sterilized canine heart valves. Cardiovasc Res. 1976 May;10(3):389–393. doi: 10.1093/cvr/10.3.389. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. McGregor C. G., Bradley J. F., McGee J. O., Wheatley D. J. Viability in human heart valves prepared for grafting. Cardiovasc Res. 1976 May;10(3):394–397. doi: 10.1093/cvr/10.3.394. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Monro J. L., Gavin J. B., Barratt-Boyes B. G. A comparison of antibiotic-sterilized, stent-mounted pulmonary and aortic valve allografts in the mitral region of dogs. Thorax. 1974 May;29(3):323–328. doi: 10.1136/thx.29.3.323. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Murata K. Acidic glycosaminoglycans in human heart valves. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 1981 Mar;13(3):281–292. doi: 10.1016/0022-2828(81)90316-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. RICHARDSON K. C., JARETT L., FINKE E. H. Embedding in epoxy resins for ultrathin sectioning in electron microscopy. Stain Technol. 1960 Nov;35:313–323. doi: 10.3109/10520296009114754. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Rajotte R. V., Shinitka T. K., Liburd E. M., Dossetor J. B., Voss W. A. Histological studies on cultured canine heart valves recovered from -196 degrees C. Cryobiology. 1977 Feb;14(1):15–22. doi: 10.1016/0011-2240(77)90118-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Wallace R. B. Tissue valves. Am J Cardiol. 1975 Jun;35(6):866–871. doi: 10.1016/0002-9149(75)90123-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Wheatley D. J., McGregor C. G. Post implantation viability in canine allograft heart valves. Cardiovasc Res. 1977 Jan;11(1):78–85. doi: 10.1093/cvr/11.1.78. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Thorax are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES