Student Honors Theses
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Fall 2012
Abstract
Exposure of insect cells to subzero temperatures typically leads to cell membrane disruption and lethal intracellular ice formation. This study seeks to examine the cryoprotective value of trangenically expressing a bacterial ice nucleation protein (INP) in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf-21) cells. The bacterium Pseudomonas syringae naturally produces a membrane-bound INP (inaZ), capable of structuring water and initiating ice formation at temperatures as high as -2 °C. I hypothesized that intracellular expression of an altered form of inaZ (PsINP) in Sf-21 cells will mediate highly regulated ice nucleation when cells are cooled to -80 °C in a slow, controlled manner, and that cells expressing PsINP (Sf-21-PsINP) will maintain cell membrane integrity in greater proportions than wildtype cells (Sf-21-WT). Following one freeze-thaw cycle, 60% of Sf-21-WT cell membranes remained intact, while 72% of Sf-21-PsINP cells maintained membrane integrity. This difference is statistically significant, and suggests that PsINP expression helps to prevent cryoinjury during freezing, and positively impacts cell viability following thawing.
Recommended Citation
Harder, Avril M., "Intracellular Expression of an Ice Nucleation Protein Reduces Cryoinjury in Insect Cells" (2012). Student Honors Theses. 6.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/bio_students/6
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