A groundbreaking study on the International Space Station is unlocking new possibilities for repairing damaged heart tissue. Researchers found that cardiac cells grown in microgravity mature better, offering hope for regenerative therapies. This could transform treatment for heart disease patients who currently rely on scarce donor hearts. The findings may lead to more efficient cell-based treatments, reducing transplant dependency.
March 31, 2025
Study of cardiac cells in space to help repair heart damage on Earth
"The space environment
provides an amazing opportunity for us to study cells in new ways." -
Chunhui Xu
Study of cardiac cells in space
to help repair heart damage on Earth
A new study of cardiac cells at
the International Space Station (ISS) is set to pave the way for repair of the
heart damage on Earth.
Key Points
1 Space microgravity enhances cardiac cell maturity for transplants
2 ISS research tackles heart tissue regeneration challenges
3 Study could reduce reliance on donor hearts
4 Simulated space conditions improve cell therapy viability
Researchers from Emory University
looked at cancer cells that proliferate -- grow and divide to produce more
cells -- much more quickly in microgravity. Spaceflight also triggers cancer
cell survival mechanisms, helping the cells better cope with the stressful
environment.
In the paper, published in the
journal Biomaterials, the researchers hypothesised that heart cells might
exhibit similar behaviour.
This would address two current
roadblocks in developing cell-based therapies for heart disease, said Chunhui
Xu, a professor in the department of paediatrics.
After successfully testing the
theory in a ground-based study using simulated microgravity, Xu and her team
conducted two spaceflight investigations.
The first examined how stem cells
differentiate into heart muscle cells, while the second looked at the
maturation of heart muscle cells into tissue-like structures.
The insight gained from the
team's space-based research could significantly advance methods to produce
cardiac cells for regenerative therapies, helping to transform the landscape of
heart disease treatment.
"The space environment
provides an amazing opportunity for us to study cells in new ways," Xu
said
"Our research on the ISS
could allow us to develop a new strategy to generate cardiac cells more efficiently
with improved survival when transplanted into damaged heart tissue, which would
greatly benefit patients on Earth," she added.
The heart is a powerful muscle
that pumps oxygen-rich blood throughout the body, but once heart muscle tissue
is damaged, it becomes scarred and cannot regenerate. This makes it difficult
for the heart to pump enough blood to meet the body's requirements.
The only option for people with
end-stage heart failure is a heart transplant, but the number of people in need
of a transplant far outnumbers the donor hearts available.
The team found that heart muscle
cells generated in simulated microgravity were purer and more mature than those
produced in normal gravity. Both characteristics are critical for cell
replacement therapies.
"Not everyone can have a
donor heart, so the research community has been looking for other ways to save
patients by transplanting new heart cells into the damaged area," Xu said.
"This is a very promising field, but there are also challenges.
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