An “out-of-this-world” challenge has the potential to remodel the way forward for tissue engineering and liver transplantation via progressive analysis carried out aboard the Worldwide Area Station (ISS).
Led by Tammy T. Chang, MD, PhD, FACS, a professor of surgical procedure on the College of California, San Francisco, the Chang Laboratory for Liver Tissue Engineering is pioneering the self-assembly of human liver tissues in low Earth orbit (LEO) -; the realm of house beneath an altitude of 1,200 miles. This course of might considerably improve the event of complicated tissues for medical use on Earth. Methods to move these tissues again to Earth and related experimental outcomes might be introduced on the American Faculty of Surgeons (ACS) Scientific Congress 2024 in San Francisco, California.
This technique leverages the distinctive surroundings of microgravity to handle the restrictions of present tissue engineering methods on Earth. For instance, using synthetic matrices that present a framework on which cells develop can introduce exterior supplies and alter mobile operate.
Our findings point out that microgravity situations allow the event of liver tissues with higher differentiation and performance than these cultured on Earth. This represents a crucial step towards creating viable liver tissue implants that might serve as a substitute or adjunct to conventional liver transplants.”
Tammy T. Chang, MD, PhD, FACS, a professor of surgical procedure on the College of California, San Francisco
Modern strategy to tissue engineering
The Chang Laboratory’s analysis focuses on the self-assembly of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) in microgravity. These preliminary cells are created from regular human cells reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells. This implies iPSCs can become many several types of cells. These stem cells are constructed into liver tissues in microgravity that operate like a smaller, easier liver. Not like Earth-bound tissue engineering strategies that depend on exogenous matrices or tradition plates, microgravity permits cells to drift freely and arrange naturally, leading to extra physiologically correct tissues.
A central part of this challenge is the event of a customized bioreactor, dubbed the “Tissue Orb,” designed to facilitate tissue self-assembly within the weightless surroundings of house. The bioreactor options a man-made blood vessel and automatic media change, simulating human tissues’ pure blood stream course of.
Future implications and cryopreservation advances
The analysis workforce can also be engaged on superior cryopreservation methods to move engineered tissues from house to Earth safely. The challenge’s subsequent part entails testing isochoric supercooling, a preservation technique that maintains tissues beneath freezing with out damaging them. This know-how might lengthen the shelf lifetime of engineered tissues and doubtlessly be utilized to entire organs.
“Our purpose is to develop sturdy preservation methods that enable us to carry practical tissues again to Earth, the place they can be utilized for a spread of biomedical purposes, together with illness modeling, drug testing, and ultimately, therapeutic implantation,” Dr. Chang stated.
The Chang Laboratory’s spaceflight experiment is scheduled for launch in February 2025. The authors preserve that the analysis not solely showcases the potential of microgravity for advancing tissue engineering but additionally lays the muse for future improvements in space-based biomedical manufacturing.
The analysis is supported by the Nationwide Science Basis (NSF) in collaboration with the Worldwide Area Station Nationwide Laboratory (ISSNL) and the Translational Analysis Institute via NASA.
Co-authors are Juan C. Reyna, MD; Anthony N. Consiglio, PhD; Alan Maida, BS; Maria Sekyi, PhD; and Boris Rubinsky, PhD.
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