Long-term storage of tissue samples for cell culture

Summary The establishment of cultured cell lines from skin biopsies stored at −196°C for periods up to 1 year has been investigated. Attempts to initiate cell cultures from the frozen tissue samples were uniformly successful. There was no alteration in chromosome constitution, morphological appearance, or specific activities of lysosomal enzymes in cells cultured from the stored samples. This process can safeguard against failure of the initial tissue culture and provide an alternate means of storing viable cells when it is impossible or impractical to initiate a cell culture immediately. This project was supported by the South Carolina Department of Mental Retardation and the Self Foundation.