Onchocerca gutturosa and O. volvulus: studies on the viability and drug responses of cryopreserved adult worms in vitro

The viability and drug responses of cryopreserved adult Onchocerca have been examined in vitro. Male worms were cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen (−196 °C) using ethanediol as a cryoprptectant in a 2-step incubation procedure. After thawing, 85–90% of O. gutturosa males were normally motile. These motile worms were evaluated for viability using 4 measurements (long-term motility/survival in culture; [U- 14C]adenine uptake and leakage; glucose utilization; MTT-formazan colorimetry) and were no different from unfrozen controls. Subsequent experiments demonstrated that the motility responses of cryopreserved worms exposed to the antifilarial drugs ivermectin, CGP 6140 and levamisole were virtually identical to unfrozen controls. Some success was also obtained with this technique in cryopreserving O. volvulus males, with 2 thawed specimens surviving in culture for 93 and 106 d respectively. Following collagenase isolation, female worms were cryopreserved in medium +10% serum without protectant at −79 °C. A batch of 8 female O. gutturosa were all motile when thawed 14 d later, with a mean survival time (based on 5 specimens) of 71 d (range 60–90). However, a batch of worms transferred from −79 °C to −196 °C were badly damaged when thawed. Female O. volvulus were cryopreserved at −79 °C in Guatemala and sent by air freight on solid CO 2 to the UK. Most specimens were active when thawed. Survival of motile specimens ranged from 7 to 272 d in culture. It is concluded that these techniques are of practical value for the storage and transportation of adult Onchocerca.