Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Feb 27;23(5):2639. doi: 10.3390/ijms23052639.
Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) or thermal hysteresis (TH) proteins are biomolecular gifts of nature to sustain life in extremely cold environments. This family of peptides, glycopeptides and proteins produced by diverse organisms including bacteria, yeast, insects and fish act by non-colligatively depressing the freezing temperature of the water below its melting point in a process termed thermal hysteresis which is then responsible for ice crystal equilibrium and inhibition of ice recrystallisation; the major cause of cell dehydration, membrane rupture and subsequent cryodamage. Scientists on the other hand have been exploring various substances as cryoprotectants. Some of the cryoprotectants in use include trehalose, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), ethylene glycol (EG), sucrose, propylene glycol (PG) and glycerol but their extensive application is limited mostly by toxicity, thus fueling the quest for better cryoprotectants. Hence, extracting or synthesizing antifreeze protein and testing their cryoprotective activity has become a popular topic among researchers. Research concerning AFPs encompasses lots of effort ranging from understanding their sources and mechanism of action, extraction and purification/synthesis to structural elucidation with the aim of achieving better outcomes in cryopreservation. This review explores the potential clinical application of AFPs in the cryopreservation of different cells, tissues and organs. Here, we discuss novel approaches, identify research gaps and propose future research directions in the application of AFPs based on recent studies with the aim of achieving successful clinical and commercial use of AFPs in the future.
抗冻蛋白（AFPs）或热滞（TH）蛋白是自然界赋予生物的生物分子礼物，使它们能够在极寒环境中生存。 这个由不同生物（包括细菌、酵母、昆虫和鱼类）产生的肽、糖肽和蛋白质家族通过非缔合作用来降低水的冰点，使其在冰点以下，这个过程被称为热滞，它负责冰晶平衡和抑制冰晶再结晶；冰晶再结晶是细胞脱水、膜破裂和随后冷冻损伤的主要原因。 另一方面，科学家一直在探索各种物质作为冷冻保护剂。 一些正在使用的冷冻保护剂包括海藻糖、二甲基亚砜（DMSO）、乙二醇（EG）、蔗糖、丙二醇（PG）和甘油，但它们的广泛应用主要受到毒性的限制，因此促使人们寻找更好的冷冻保护剂。 因此，提取或合成抗冻蛋白并测试其冷冻保护活性已成为研究人员的热门话题。 关于 AFP 的研究涵盖了从了解其来源和作用机制、提取和纯化/合成到结构阐明等大量工作，旨在实现冷冻保存的更好效果。 本综述探讨了 AFP 在不同细胞、组织和器官冷冻保存中的潜在临床应用。 在这里，我们根据最近的研究讨论了新方法，确定了研究差距，并提出了 AFP 应用的未来研究方向，旨在实现 AFP 在未来临床和商业上的成功应用。
