Summary: Professionals sent stem-cell-derived head organoids to the International Space Station ( ISS) to study the effects of gravity on brain development. The organoids remained good after a quarter in orbit, but they showed slower maturation and slower replication growth than controls.
Gene expression analysis revealed higher levels of chromosomes linked to nerve age and lower rates of stress-related disease, challenging initial assumptions. Experts speculate that gravity mimics brain-like conditions, offering special insights into mobile conduct.
These observations could tell studies on neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, paving the way for potential tests. The research provides a first-class primer on how gravity affects brain tissue.
Important Information:
- Increased Expansion: Brain organoids in gravity showed faster development and reduced development.
- Reduced Stress Answer: Contrary to expectations, infection and stress-related protein expression were lower in space-grown organoids.
- Potential Potential: Research into brain cell connectivity and neurodegenerative diseases in space might be useful.
Origin: Scripps Research Institute
Microgravity is known to affect the muscles, legs, the immune system and cognition, but little is known about its particular impact on the brain.
To discover how brain cells respond to microgravity, Scripps Research scientists, in collaboration with the New York Stem Cell Foundation, sent tiny clumps of stem-cell derived brain cells called “organoids” to the International Space Station ( ISS).
Amazingly, when the organoids returned from orbit a month later, they were still alive; however, they had grown more maturely quickly than similar organoids from Earth; they were starting to show signs of specialization and were approaching adult neurons.
The results, which may shed light on possible cerebral effects of storage travel, were published on October 23, 2024, in , Stem Cells Translational Medicine.
The fact that these tissues lived in space was a surprise, according to co-senior author Jeanne Loring, PhD, professor professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine and founding director of Scripps Research.
This “lays the foundation for future experiments in space where we can include neurological disease-affected different brain regions.”
The group used plant cells to create organoids made of either cerebral or serotonin cells, which are the cerebral communities affected by multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, diseases Loring has studied for years. Some organoids even included microglia, a type of defensive cell that is native within the head, to examine the impact of gravity on disease.
Organoids are typically grown in nutrient-rich wet media, which needs to be periodically changed to ensure that the organisms receive enough protein and to get rid of waste products. To minimize the need for laboratory work on the ISS, the crew pioneered a strategy for growing smaller-than-usual organoids in cryovials—small, airtight containers that were initially designed for heavy melting.
The organoids were transported to the ISS in a small embryo after being prepared in the laboratory at the Kennedy Space Station. After a fortnight in circle, they returned to Earth, where the group showed that they were good and alive.
To study how the room atmosphere impacts mobile functions, the group compared the cells ‘ RNA expression patterns—a measure of gene activity—to similar “ground control” organoids that had remained on Earth.
Surprisingly, they discovered that organoids grown in microgravity had higher levels of genes associated with maturity and less genes with proliferation than ground controls, which indicated that cells that were subject to microgravity developed more quickly and more quickly than those that were on Earth.
According to Loring,” we discovered that the gene expression profile in both types of organoids was indicative of an older stage of development than the ones that were on ground.”
” In microgravity, they developed faster, but it’s really important to know these were not adult neurons, so this doesn’t tell us anything about aging”.
The team also noted that, contrary to their hypothesis, there was less inflammation and lower expression of stress-related genes in organoids grown in microgravity, but more research is needed to determine why.
Loring posits that organoids grown under conventional lab conditions and in the presence of gravity may experience a more similar state to those found in brain cells.
” The characteristics of microgravity are probably also at work in people’s brains, because there’s no convection in microgravity—in other words, things don’t move”, says Loring.
” I believe that these organoids are more similar to the brain in space because they aren’t being flushed with a lot of culture medium or oxygen. They’re very independent, they form something like a brainlet, a microcosm of the brain”.
The paper describes the team’s first space mission, but since then, they have sent four more missions to the ISS. With each one, they’ve replicated the conditions from the first mission and added additional experiments.
 ,” The next thing we plan to do is to study the part of the brain that’s most affected by Alzheimer’s disease”, says Loring.
We’re interested in finding out whether the way neurons interact with one another in space. Because there isn’t any earlier work, you can’t rely on earlier work to predict what the outcome will be with these kinds of studies. We’re on the ground floor, so to speak, in the sky, but on the ground floor”.
Funding: This work was supported by funding from the National Stem Cell Foundation.
In addition to Loring, authors of the study,” Effects of microgravity on the International Space Station’s human iPSC-derived neural organoids” are Jason Stein of Scripps Research, Davide Marotta, Laraib Ijaz, Lilianne Barbar, Madhura Nijsure, Nicolette Pirjanian, Ilya Kruglikov, Scott A. Noggle, and Valentina Fossati of The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute, Twyman Clements and Jana Stoudemire of Space Tango, and Paula Grisanti of the National Stem Cell Foundation.
About this news from neuroscience research
Author: Press Office
Source: Scripps Research Institute
Contact: Press Office – Scripps Research Institute
Image: The image is credited to Jeanne Loring
Original Research: Open access.
The International Space Station’s” Effects of Microgravity on Human iPSC-derived neural organoids” by Jeanne Loring and al. Stem Cells Translational Medicine
Abstract
Effects of microgravity on the International Space Station’s human iPSC-derived neural organoids
The effects of microgravity on various organs have been demonstrated by research conducted on the International Space Station ( ISS) in low-Earth orbit ( LEO ). We developed a unique organoid strategy for modeling specific areas of the brain that are impacted by neurodegenerative diseases in order to investigate the effects of microgravity on the central nervous system.
We generated 3-dimensional human neural organoids from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs ) derived from individuals affected by primary progressive multiple sclerosis ( PPMS ) or Parkinson’s disease ( PD ) and non-symptomatic controls, by differentiating them toward cortical and dopaminergic fates, respectively, and combined them with isogenic microglia.
The organoids were kept on Earth for a month by using a novel sealed cryovial culture technique on the International Space Station ( ISS) and a second set. Live samples were brought back to Earth for RNA expression and histology analysis and were tucked into culture dishes to facilitate neurite outgrowth.
Our findings indicate that cortical and dopaminergic organoids grown in LEO had higher levels of genes involved in cell proliferation and higher levels of genes involved in maturation, which suggests that the cells matured more quickly there.
In addition to investigating other neurological diseases, this study is expanding its scope with additional missions in order to understand the mechanisms underlying accelerated maturation.
Our goal is to make the most of the opportunity to study neural cells in LEO to better understand and treat neurodegenerative disease on Earth and to help alleviate potential negative neurological effects of space travel.
