Leveraging space to advance stem cell science and medicine

Date:
December 30, 2021
Source:
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Summary:
The secret to producing large batches of stem cells more efficiently
may lie in the near-zero gravity conditions of space. Scientists
have found that microgravity has the potential to contribute
to life-saving advances on Earth by facilitating the rapid mass
production of stem cells.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The secret to producing large batches of stem cells more efficiently
may lie in the near-zero gravity conditions of space. Scientists at Cedars-Sinai have found that microgravity has the potential to contribute
to life-saving advances on Earth by facilitating the rapid mass production
of stem cells.


==========================================================================
A new paper, led by Cedars Sinai and published in the peer-review journal
Stem Cell Reports, highlights key opportunities discussed during the
2020 Biomanufacturing in Space Symposium to expand the manufacture of
stem cells in space.

Biomanufacturing -- a type of stem cell production that uses biological materials such as microbes to produce substances and biomaterials suitable
for use in preclinical, clinical, and therapeutic applications -- can
be more productive in microgravity conditions.

"We are finding that spaceflight and microgravity is a desirable
place for biomanufacturing because it confers a number of very special properties to biological tissues and biological processes that can help
mass produce cells or other products in a way that you wouldn't be able
to do on Earth," said stem cell biologist Arun Sharma, PhD, research
scientist and head of a new research laboratory in the Cedars-Sinai Board
of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute, Smidt Heart Institute and Department of Biomedical Sciences.

"The last two decades have seen remarkable advances in regenerative
medicine and exponential advancement in space technologies enabling new opportunities to access and commercialize space," he said.

Attendees at the virtual space symposium in December identified more than
50 potential commercial opportunities for conducting biomanufacturing
work in space, according to the Cedars-Sinai paper. The most promising
fell into three categories: disease modeling, biofabrication, and stem-cell-derived products.



==========================================================================
The first, disease modeling, is used by scientists to study diseases and possible treatments by replicating full-function structures -- whether
using stem cells, organoids (miniature 3D structures grown from human
stem cells that resemble human tissue), or other tissues.

Investigators have found that once the body is exposed to low-gravity conditions for extended periods of time, it experiences accelerated bone
loss and aging. By developing disease models based on this accelerated
aging process, research scientists can better understand the mechanisms
of the aging process and disease progression.

"Not only can this work help astronauts, but it can also lead to us manufacturing bone constructs or skeletal muscle constructs that could be applied to diseases like osteoporosis and other forms of accelerated bone
aging and muscle wasting that people experience on Earth," said Sharma,
who is the corresponding author of the paper.

Another highly discussed topic at the symposium was biofabrication,
which uses manufacturing processes to produce materials like tissues
and organs. 3D printing is one of the core biofabrication technologies.

A major issue with producing these materials on Earth involves
gravity-induced density, which makes it hard for cells to expand and
grow. With the absence of gravity and density in space, scientists are
hopeful that they can use 3D printing to print unique shapes and products,
like organoids or cardiac tissues, in a way that can't be replicated
on Earth.

The third category has to do with the production of stem cells and understanding how some of their fundamental properties are influenced by microgravity. Some of these properties include potency, or the ability
of a stem cell to renew itself, and differentiation, the ability for
stem cells to turn into other cell types.

Understanding some of the effects of spaceflight on stem cells can
potentially lead to better ways to manufacture large numbers of cells in
the absence of gravity. Scientists from Cedars-Sinai will be sending stem
cells into space early next year, in conjunction with NASA and a private contractor, Space Tango, to test whether it is possible to produce large batches in a low gravity environment.

"While we are still in the exploratory phase of some of this
research, this is no longer in the realm of science fiction,"
Sharma said. "Within the next five years we may see a scenario where
we find cells or tissues that can be made in a way that is simply
not possible here on Earth. And I think that's extremely exciting." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Cedars-Sinai_Medical_Center. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Arun Sharma, Rachel A. Clemens, Orquidea Garcia, D. Lansing Taylor,
Nicole L. Wagner, Kelly A. Shepard, Anjali Gupta, Siobhan Malany,
Alan J.

Grodzinsky, Mary Kearns-Jonker, Devin B. Mair, Deok-Ho Kim,
Michael S.

Roberts, Jeanne F. Loring, Jianying Hu, Lara E. Warren, Sven Eenmaa,
Joe Bozada, Eric Paljug, Mark Roth, Donald P. Taylor, Gary Rodrigue,
Patrick Cantini, Amelia W. Smith, Marc A. Giulianotti, William
R. Wagner.

Biomanufacturing in low Earth orbit for regenerative medicine. Stem
Cell Reports, 2021; DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2021.12.001 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211230130934.htm

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