DEPARTMENT OF CRYOCYTOLOGY

Headed by
Doctor of Biological Sciences,
Senior Researcher,
Nataliya Shpakova
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0148-7522

HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT

The Department was established in April 1993. Learn more about history>>

Until 2003, the Department was headed by Prof., MD, Oleksandr S. Kaprelyants. From 2003 to 2023, the Department was headed by Doctor of Biological Sciences, Prof. Lyubov O. Babiychuk. Since 2023 to the present, Doctor of Biological Sciences the Head of the Department is Nataliya M. Shpakova. Since 2016, the Department of Cryocytology has merged with the Department of Cell Cryophysiology, headed by the winner of the O.V. Palladin Prize of the Ukrainian SSR in the field of biochemistry and molecular biology (1990), Doctor of Biological Sciences, Prof. Valeriy A. Bondarenko.

RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

  • Study of the structure and functions of nucleated (CD45+) cells, including hematopoietic progenitor (CD34+) ones, human cord blood cells under the influence of CPAs with different mechanisms of low temperature effect to substantiate new approaches to cryopreservation and long-term storage.
  • Study of the pathways of apoptosis development and the possibility of its prevention/inhibition using multicomponent antioxidant-containing cryoprotective media.
  • Study of the effect of cryodamage factors on erythrocytes of various mammalian species using a model approach (hypertensive shock, hypertensive cryohemolysis, posthypertensive shock), the results of which can be used in the development of a general theory of cryodamage and cryoprotection of biological objects.
  • Study of the cryoresistance of mammalian erythrocytes depending on the initial state of the cells and during preservation in combined cryoprotective media of different composition. Correction of the temperature-osmotic sensitivity of erythrocytes using amphiphilic compounds belonging to different classes of surfactants.
  • Study of the mechanisms of stabilization of human erythrocytes when using the CPAs of different  types of action and modifiers of the structural and functional state of various components of the membrane-cytoskeletal complex.

CURRENT RESEARCH

  • Investigation of the mechanisms of  the effect of cryoprotective solutions and antioxidants on the modification of structural state and development of oxidative processes in human cord blood cells at the stages of cryopreservation
  • Investigation of the mechanisms of cryodamage of mammalian erythrocytes in the model of post-hypertonic  shock and after thawing
  • Cryoresistance and conditions of cryopreservation of mammalian blood components

MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS AND EXPERTISE

All studies at the department are performed using the modern methods: flow cytometry, electron and confocal microscopies, protein electrophoresis, etc.

Learn more>>

  • Methods for the isolation and cryopreservation of hematopoietic progenitor cells of human cord blood have been developed and protected by patents of Ukraine.
  • A wash-free method for cryopreservation of whole human cord blood has been developed, which ensures high preservation and viability of two types of cells (erythrocytes and nucleated cells) and biologically active substances of cord blood plasma simultaneously in a cell product.
  • Features and patterns of the resistance of mammalian erythrocytes to changes in temperature and osmotic parameters of the environment have been identified.
  • The possibility of increasing the resistance of erythrocytes to temperature and osmotic stress using chemical agents (amphiphilic compounds of various origins) has been theoretically and experimentally substantiated.
  • The principle of directed regulation of cell resistance to stress effects when using combined modes that include partial dehydration with simultaneous temperature modification of the cell state has been theoretically and experimentally substantiated. The change in cell volume is proposed to be a factor that controls the transitions of cells to states that differ in structural lability and sensitivity to external factors.
  • Based on fundamental research, new approaches for targeted modification of erythrocyte stability at the initial stages before cryopreservation have been substantiated to increase their resistance to freeze- thawing. Based on the principle of “cold stabilization”, a wash-free method of cryopreservation of erythrocytes has been developed and protected by the Patent of Ukraine.

STAFF OF THE DEPARTMENT

CONTACT PERSON

Nataliya Shpakova
Email: Shpakova@cryonas.org.ua

Scroll to Top
Verified by MonsterInsights