Reversible “Suspended animation” drug could aid organ transplantation and survival from traumatic injury

Good news! Could be a breakthrough!

"... The research ... an important study providing solid evidence that the existing drug, SNC80, can rapidly and reversibly slow biochemical and metabolic activities while preserving cell and tissue viability. The research suggests that SNC80 not only has the potential to ensure donor organs can be preserved safely for longer ahead of transplantation, but could be used to slow the detrimental effects of tissue and organ trauma across a wide range of health emergencies. ...
The conventional approach for achieving this is to lower temperature such that these processes slow down as they would during hibernation. However, prolonged cold storage can damage tissue and the systems currently used to keep cells and tissues alive can be challenging to use at the point of care or when resources are limited. ...
"We set out to identify potential drugs that could slow down metabolism and mimic states normally induced by hypothermia or hibernation. We needed an approach that was inducible in less than an hour and safely reversible – with major tissue functions returning to normal within 24 hours." ..."

From the assessment and abstract:

"eLife assessment

This important study provides a new way to enhance organ preservation. The authors provide solid evidence that an existing drug, SNC80, can rapidly and reversibly slow biochemical and metabolic activities while preserving cell and tissue viability. This study will be of interest to a broad set of readers interested in organ transplantation, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine organoids, and organ-on-a-chip engineering.

Abstract

Drugs that induce reversible slowing of metabolic and physiological processes would have great value for organ preservation, especially for organs with high susceptibility to hypoxia-reperfusion injury, such as the heart. Using whole-organism screening of metabolism, mobility, and development in Xenopus, we identified an existing drug, SNC80, that rapidly and reversibly slows biochemical and metabolic activities while preserving cell and tissue viability. Although SNC80 was developed as a delta opioid receptor activator, we discovered that its ability to slow metabolism is independent of its opioid modulating activity as a novel SNC80 analog (WB3) with almost 1,000 times less delta opioid receptor binding activity is equally active. Metabolic suppression was also achieved using SNC80 in microfluidic human organs-on-chips, as well as in explanted whole porcine hearts and limbs, demonstrating the cross-species relevance of this approach and potential clinical relevance for surgical transplantation. Pharmacological induction of physiological slowing in combination with organ perfusion transport systems may offer a new therapeutic approach for tissue and organ preservation for transplantation, trauma management, and enhancing patient survival in remote and low-resource locations."

“Suspended animation” drug could aid organ transplantation and survival from traumatic injury Study suggests that a pain relief drug can quickly and reversibly induce a sleep-like state in cells and organs could facilitate organ transplantation and prevent irreversible tissue injury

Identification of pharmacological inducers of a reversible hypometabolic state for whole organ preservation (open access)

This illustration explains the ... multi-system, cross-species approach, which started with a computational and literature analysis to predict existing drugs that could induce suspended animation in living organisms