X-Message-Number: 14635
From: 
Date: Sat, 7 Oct 2000 14:15:58 EDT
Subject: Re: CryoNet #14549 D2O effects

Late answer to:

> Message #14549
> Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 09:12:50 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Doug Skrecky <>
> Subject: heavy water may aid cryopreservation
> 
> Title
>   Deuterium oxide-based University of
>   Wisconsin solution improves viability of hypothermically stored vascular
>   tissue.
> Source
>   Transplantation.  65(5):735-7, 1998 Mar 15. >>
>

From biochemical background:
D2O (heavy water) is a toxic product. It forbids the tubule breaking at the 
periphery of the cell. In a cell, tubules are continuously assembled at the 
cell's center, the centrosome (the nucleus is not at the center). they are 
destroyed at the cell border where they broke into the elementary tubulin 
units (there are two kind of them) these units move back to the center where 
they are assembled anew. This form a conveyor belt able to move big 
macromolecules and vesicles or subunits such mitochondrias.

D2O freeze out that conveyor, this paralysis kill the cell after some time. 
At low temperature, the tubulin units can't be assembled and the centrosome 
itself disolves. D20 is then useful as a centrosome protectant. A far less 
costly product with the same effect is colchicin, a toxic product for the 
same reason at normal temperature.

Yvan Bozzonetti.

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