A green tea antioxidant could have
the potential to extend the shelf
life of certain human tissues stored
for transplant. Currently, tissues
preserved for transplant, such as
skin, can only be stored for a limited
time, which leads to waste as tissues
have to be thrown away once they
have passed their ‘best before’ date.
Japanese researchers have discovered
that a green tea antioxidant could
significantly improve the length
of time that both skin tissues and
platelets can be stored.
Scientists at Kyoto University
and the University of Shiga
Prefecture added the antioxidant
epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG)
to human platelets and rat skin
tissues before they underwent
standard preservation techniques
(Cell Transplantation 2009, 18, 513;
521).
Platelets treated with EGCG
were better preserved after six
days, compared with controls, and
maintained the ability to aggregate
and coagulate. International
standards on banking platelets
currently limits their storage to five
days, and in Japan platelets can
only be held for three days before
they have to be destroyed. ‘EGCG
may lead to an inhibition of platelet
apoptosis and lower rates of cell
death, offering a potentially novel
and useful method to prolong
platelet storage,’ says Suong-Hyn
Hyon, lead author of both studies.
Adding the antioxidant to rat
skin tissues prior to cryopreservation
extended the lifespan of the tissues
by as much as seven weeks to 24
weeks. EGCG was found to help
prevent freeze-thaw injuries to the
tissues when it was bound to cell
membrane lipids and proteins. Hyon
says that transplant dysfunction
often occurs as a result of oxidation.
He theorises that the antioxidant
properties of EGCG could help to
prevent this damage.
Barry Fuller, professor of surgical
sciences and low temperature
medicine at University College
London, UK, says that this is an
interesting study, but it is not a ‘huge
leap forward’.
Fuller says that skin is tricky to
preserve as the microvascularisation
needs to be carefully protected as
this enables the patient’s body to
integrate with the transplanted
tissue. ‘Polyphenols are a very
interesting group and adding
polyphenols produced some benefit,’
he adds. However, ‘It’s not going to
help us freeze livers tomorrow.’
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