Leveraging space to advance stem cell science and medicine

The secret to creating massive batches of stem cells additional effectively may well lie in the in the vicinity of-zero gravity disorders of room. Experts at Cedars-Sinai have discovered that microgravity has the likely to contribute to life-conserving developments on Earth by facilitating the quick mass generation of stem cells.

A new paper, led by Cedars Sinai and published in the peer-assessment journal Stem Cell Experiences, highlights vital possibilities talked over through the 2020 Biomanufacturing in Space Symposium to expand the manufacture of stem cells in room.

Biomanufacturing — a kind of stem mobile generation that utilizes biological components these kinds of as microbes to generate substances and biomaterials suited for use in preclinical, medical, and therapeutic programs — can be additional successful in microgravity disorders.

“We are discovering that spaceflight and microgravity is a desirable position for biomanufacturing mainly because it confers a amount of quite special attributes to biological tissues and biological processes that can support mass generate cells or other solutions in a way that you wouldn’t be in a position to do on Earth,” explained stem mobile biologist Arun Sharma, PhD, research scientist and head of a new research laboratory in the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute, Smidt Coronary heart Institute and Section of Biomedical Sciences.

“The very last two many years have noticed amazing developments in regenerative medicine and exponential progression in room technologies enabling new possibilities to entry and commercialize room,” he explained.

Attendees at the virtual room symposium in December determined additional than fifty likely professional possibilities for conducting biomanufacturing function in room, according to the Cedars-Sinai paper. The most promising fell into 3 classes: condition modeling, biofabrication, and stem-mobile-derived solutions.

The initially, condition modeling, is utilized by scientists to review illnesses and feasible treatments by replicating complete-functionality buildings — no matter if employing stem cells, organoids (miniature 3D buildings grown from human stem cells that resemble human tissue), or other tissues.

Investigators have discovered that the moment the overall body is uncovered to low-gravity disorders for extended intervals of time, it activities accelerated bone loss and growing older. By establishing condition types based on this accelerated growing older approach, research scientists can improved realize the mechanisms of the growing older approach and condition development.

“Not only can this function support astronauts, but it can also direct to us manufacturing bone constructs or skeletal muscle constructs that could be used to illnesses like osteoporosis and other types of accelerated bone growing older and muscle losing that persons experience on Earth,” explained Sharma, who is the corresponding creator of the paper.

A different really talked over topic at the symposium was biofabrication, which utilizes manufacturing processes to generate components like tissues and organs. 3D printing is a single of the core biofabrication technologies.

A major problem with creating these components on Earth involves gravity-induced density, which makes it tough for cells to expand and improve. With the absence of gravity and density in room, scientists are hopeful that they can use 3D printing to print special designs and solutions, like organoids or cardiac tissues, in a way that are not able to be replicated on Earth.

The 3rd classification has to do with the generation of stem cells and comprehending how some of their elementary attributes are motivated by microgravity. Some of these attributes involve efficiency, or the means of a stem mobile to renew itself, and differentiation, the means for stem cells to change into other mobile forms.

Knowing some of the consequences of spaceflight on stem cells can potentially direct to improved approaches to manufacture massive numbers of cells in the absence of gravity. Experts from Cedars-Sinai will be sending stem cells into room early subsequent yr, in conjunction with NASA and a personal contractor, Space Tango, to test no matter if it is feasible to generate massive batches in a low gravity atmosphere.

“Whilst we are still in the exploratory stage of some of this research, this is no longer in the realm of science fiction,” Sharma explained. “Inside the subsequent five yrs we may well see a state of affairs in which we come across cells or tissues that can be made in a way that is simply not feasible below on Earth. And I think that’s extremely thrilling.”