With about every research group jumping on the bandwagon, Protokinetix(IMHO)will help greatly help with this snowball going down the hill research...(Sorry, old news).
Umbilical Cord Blood Industry Tests ProtoKinetix’ AAGP™
ProtoKinetix, Inc. (PKTX) announces that a top tier company in Umbilical Cord Blood Preservation has conducted preliminary tests using AAGP™ as a protective agent in the cryofreezing (-196°C) and subsequent thawing of cord blood units. The results, using a relatively small number of samples of cord blood and a low concentration of AAGP™ (4mg/ml) showed a 104% average increase over the control group (cells not treated with AAGP™) in the yield following thawing.
In addition, a post-thaw two week proliferation assay was performed to test the ability of cells to function. A 38% increase over the control group was observed. The importance of this is the ability to propagate additional stem cells, recovered from the cord blood, in order to provide adequate supply for therapeutic use.
Umbilical Cord Blood Preservation companies have a product offering through which families can preserve their baby’s umbilical cord blood at the time of birth. The cryopreservation of this cord can be saved for possible future medical use in the treatment of over 40-diseases, including blood cancers and genetic disease. Some Umbilical Cord Blood Preservation companies conduct Research and Development primarily to investigate other potential therapeutic uses of umbilical cord blood – derived stem cells and on technology for expanding populations of these cells.
Since a major loss of cells occurs in the transportation and storage of the cord blood before freezing, it has been suggested that AAGP™ be added to the cord blood bags before shipping. This could further assist in the increase of the viable cell population. ProtoKinetix is pleased to know that these findings are worthy of further investigation for commercial applications.
