Hypoxia/hypercapnia prevents iron-dependent cold injuries in cord blood stem and progenitor cells

Background. Cold-induced cell injuries are associated with an increase in the cellular labile iron pool (LIP) followed by lipid peroxidation and alteration of mitochondrial function, which lead to cell death. Recently, we showed that incubation in a hypoxic/hypercapnic (HH) gas mixture improved the survival of a population of cord blood hematopoietic progenitors and CD34(+) hematopoietic progenitor and stem cells in severe hypothermia. To explain the underlying mechanism, here we test if this HH-induced cytoprotection in cold conditions is associated with the level of LIP and lysosome stability. Methods. Cord blood CD34(+) cells were incubated in air (20% O-2/0.05% CO2) or in the hypoxic (5% O-2)/hypercapnic (9% CO2) atmosphere for 7 days at 4 degrees C and analyzed. Results. Incubation in HH condition maintained the day 0 (D-0) level of LIP detected using a bleomycin-dependent method. This was associated with preservation of lysosome integrity and a higher cell survival. Conversely, in the air condition LIP was significantly increased. Also, the presence of a moderate concentration of iron chelator deferoximine improves the conservation of total CD34(+) cells and committed progenitors in air condition. Pretreatment of CD34(+) cells with the lysomotropic agent imidazole induces significant decrease in the lysosomal stability and in all conditions. This is associated with an important decrease of survival of conserved cells and an increase in the cellular LIP level. Discussion. Our study showed that HH gas mixture cytoprotection during hypothermia maintains lysosome stability, which enables preservation of the cellular chelatable iron in the physiological ranges. These findings suggest a way to optimize cell conservation without freezing.