Comparison of cryopreserved amniotic membrane and umbilical cord tissue with dehydrated amniotic membrane/chorion tissue.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate how the different processing methods cryopreservation and dehydration affect the structural integrity and biological composition of key signalling molecules within amniotic membrane and umbilical cord tissues.

METHOD

We directly compared cryopreserved amniotic membrane (AM) and umbilical cord (UC) tissues with dehydrated amniotic membrane/chorion (dHACM) tissue using biochemical and functional assays including histological and histochemical staining, BCA, agarose gel electrophoresis, western blot, ELISA, and proliferation and cell death assays.

RESULTS

Cryopreservation retains the native architecture of the AM/UC extracellular matrix and maintains the quantity and activity of key biological signals present in fresh AM/UC, including high molecular weight hyaluronic acid, heavy chain-HA complex, and pentraxin 3. In contrast, dehydrated tissues were structurally compromised and almost completely lacked these crucial components.

CONCLUSION

The results presented here indicate that cryopreservation better preserves the structural and biological signaling molecules of foetal tissues.