Culture of human cells in experimental units for spaceflight impacts on their behavior

Abstract

Cell cultures represent valuable preclinical models to decipher pathogenic circuitries. This is true also for biomedical research in space. A lot has been learnt about cell adaptation and reaction from the experiments performed on many different cell types flown to space. Obviously, cell culture in space has to meet specific requirements for the safety of the crew and to comply with the unique environmental challenges. For these reasons, specific devices for cell culture in space have been developed. It is important to clarify whether these alternative culture systems impact on cell performances to allow a correct interpretation of the data. AbstractBecause space missions produce pathophysiological alterations such as cardiovascular disorders and bone demineralization which are very common on Earth, biomedical research in space is a frontier that holds important promises not only to counterbalance spaceassociated disorders in astronauts but also to ameliorate the health of Earth-bound population. Experiments in space are complex to design. Cells must be cultured in closed cell culture systems (from now defined experimental units (EUs)), which are biocompatible, functional, safe to minimize any potential hazard to the crew, and with a high degree of automation. Therefore, to perform experiments in orbit, it is relevant to know how closely culture in the EUs reflects cellular behavior under normal growth conditions. We compared the performances in these units of three different human cell types, which were recently space flown, i.e. bone mesenchymal stem cells, micro-and macrovascular endothelial cells. Endothelial cells are only slightly and transiently affected by culture in the EUs, whereas these devices accelerate mesenchymal stem cell reprogramming toward osteogenic differentiation, in part by increasing the amounts of reactive oxygen species. We conclude that cell culture conditions in the EUs do not exactly mimic what happens in a culture dish and that more efforts are necessary to optimize these devices for biomedical experiments in space.

Growth of Endothelial Cells in Space and in Simulated Microgravity – a Comparison on the Secretory Level

“…4A, B). This is corroborated by a recent study by Cazzaniga and coworkers, who reported that hardware designed for spaceflights can impact cell behavior [59]. But it is not clear which cytokine is directly affected by the chamber material and which is regulated by the network of interaction shown in Fig.…”

Cluster-Assembled Zirconia Substrates Accelerate the Osteogenic Differentiation of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells

“…At the biochemical level, after 24 h of culture on 20 nm ns-ZrOx surfaces, we observed an accumulation of ROS and mildly reduced mitochondrial transmembrane potential, both of which were reversed 72 h later. An adequate amount of ROS is necessary to influence differentiation [41], and, accordingly, a modest increase in ROS accelerates the osteogenic differentiation of bMSCs [42,43]; however, controversial results are available on the interplay between ROS and mitochondrial potential. A mild depolarization of the mitochondria is sufficient to completely inhibit mitochondrial ROS generation [44].…”

Preparation of Human Muscle Precursor Cells for the MyoGravity Project’s Study of Cell Cultures in Experiment Units for Space Flight Purposes

“…The culture chamber is designed to accommodate cells cultured in a monolayer on a 2.3 cm 2 Thermanox TM coverslip with around 1.1 mL of culture medium. Fluid displacement is actuated by a piston that injects fresh fluids into the culture chamber, moving the wasted fluids on the rear side of the piston [13]. The solutions contained inside the EUs reservoirs were different depending on whether the sample has to be processed or not for RNA extraction.…”

“…Sci. 2022, 12, 7013 2 of 13 Besides affecting the protein turnover, microgravity may induce muscle atrophy by negatively affecting the biology and functionality of satellite cells (SCs) [3,4], a special cell type with a role in pre-and post-natal muscle growth. In adult skeletal muscles, SCs are quiescent and undifferentiated cells residing beneath the basal lamina and the sarcolemma [5], and they can undergo a rapid conversion from a quiescent to an activated state (myoblasts) in response to specific stimuli, including oxidative stress and muscle traumas.…”