Interaction of thermal hysteresis proteins with cells and cell membranes and associated applications

Abstract

A newly discovered property of thermal hysteresis proteins is the interaction of these proteins with cell membranes and thus with cells themselves, protecting cells and their membranes from damage which they would otherwise suffer upon exposure to non-physiological conditions such as temperature abnormalities, including both hyperthermic, hypothermic and sub-freezing temperatures. Improved rates of cell viability are observed over a wide range of conditions which do not involve ice formation, including temperatures above the freezing range as well as temperatures below the freezing range but in vitrification conditions. Heretofore the only known property of these proteins was their ability to interact with ice crystals. In conditions in which ice crystals are formed, it is further discovered that use of the proteins with human cells at the concentrations in which they naturally occur in the source organisms results in aggravating the injury to the cells rather than reducing it, but that the injury is lessened, and the survival rate improved, by using low concentrations. The proteins thus offer benefits in the preservation and improved viability of cell suspensions, tissues and whole organs. The proteins are further discovered to have the ability to block ion channels in mammalian cell membranes, thereby providing a further utility in the treatment of disease conditions.

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