X-Message-Number: 13259
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 08:41:22 -0800 (PST)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: trehalose expression confers desiccation tolerance

Trehalose Expression Confers Desiccation Tolerance on Human Cells.

Nat Biotechnol 2000 Feb; 18(2): 168-71
Guo N, Puhlev I, Brown DR, Mansbridge J, Levine F
Center for Molecular Genetics,
UCSD School of Medicine,
La Jolla, CA 92093-0634, USA

    Many organisms that withstand desiccation express the disaccharide
trehalose. we have now expressed the otsA and otsB genes of
Escherichia coli, which encode trehalose biosynthetic enzymes, in
human primary fibroblasts using a recombinant adenovirus vector.
Infected cells produced increased amounts of trehalose with increasing
multiplicity of infection (MOI). Human primary fibroblasts expressing trehalose
could be maintained in the dry state for up to five days. Fourier transform
infared spectroscopy indicated that dry viable, human cells contained no
detectible water. This study shows that mammalian cells can be engineered
to retain viability in the absence of water.

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