ISS National Lab-Sponsored Experiment Tests 3D Bioprinted Tissue for Growing Artificial Livers

CAPE CANAVERAL (FL), August 20, 2025 – To explore how 3D bioprinted liver tissue constructs complete with vascular channels behave in microgravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment., the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) is sending an investigation to the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station). The project, sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory®, is set to launch on SpaceX’s 33^rd Commercial Resupply Services mission(Abbreviation: CRS mission) A CRS mission is a cargo resupply mission contracted by NASA to deliver supplies and research to the International Space Station on commercial spacecraft as part of the CRS contract with three commercial companies. As part of CRS missions, experiments currently return to Earth on SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that splash down in the ocean., contracted by NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Bioprinting allows scientists to create intricate 3D structures using living human cells to build functional replicas of human tissues and organs. These engineered tissues can be used to study disease or to repair tissues impaired by disease, injury, or natural aging. In this case, the focus is the liver—a vital organ with complex vascular networks. WFIRM researchers have successfully engineered liver tissue constructs with vascular channels that remain functional for 30 days in labs on Earth. However, on Earth, maintaining large, thick bioprinted tissue constructs poses challenges due to limitations in our ability to construct vascularized tissue. With limited vascularization, engineered tissues are limited in their ability to obtain oxygen and nutrients while removing metabolic wastes. Over time, the engineered tissues lose viability and function.

Microgravity may cause changes in cell distribution, behavior, and adherence properties. These changes could provide insight into how to manufacture better, longer-lasting tissues for disease research and treating patients on Earth.

The experiment aims to determine whether microgravity alters cell behavior, potentially improving tissue development and maturation, by utilizing Redwire Space’s Multi-Use Variable-Gravity Platform (MVP) facility. The successful completion of this experiment could advance tissue engineering on Earth and further set the stage for biomanufactured tissue and organs grown in space for transplantation, said James Yoo, a professor at WFIRM leading the investigation.

“This collaborative investigation has the potential to yield remarkable results,” said Yoo. “By leveraging bioprinting technologies, we’ve created gel-like frameworks with channels for oxygen and nutrient flow that mimic natural blood vessels, opening up new possibilities for medical treatments both on Earth and in space.”

Two teams of researchers and students from WFIRM—Team Winston and Team WFIRM—used 3D printing technologies to create their tissue constructs as part of NASA’s Vascular Tissue Challenge, a prize competition aimed at accelerating tissue engineering innovations to benefit space exploration and people on Earth by improving regenerative medicine technologies. The teams won prizes totaling $400,000 in research funding as a result of their technology demonstration on Earth, and both teams will have the opportunity to test their innovations on the space station. Team Winston will be the first team to take their innovation to space.

For this investigation, Team Winston will assess tissue development and functionality of liver and vascular cells within the construct, considering microgravity’s impact on cell characteristics. For example, the team will examine whether vascular cells correctly form a lining in the blood vessel walls within the liver construct.

The Vascular Tissue Challenge is part of NASA’s Centennial Challenges program in the Space Technology Mission Directorate. The Methuselah Foundation’s New Organ Alliance organized the competition for NASA and assembled a nine-member judging panel focused on regenerative medicine research with support from experts at NASA, the National Institute of Health, the ISS National Lab, and leading academic researchers.

“Our mission at the Methuselah Foundation involves advancing human longevity through regenerative medicine,” said David Gobel, co-founder and chief executive officer of the Methuselah Foundation. “By collaborating with NASA and the ISS National Lab to accelerate innovation, we’re not only improving human health on Earth but also preparing for the challenges of space exploration and bolstering the future space industry.”

The mission is targeted for launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station no earlier than August 24, 2025, at 2:45 a.m. EDT and will include more than 20 ISS National Lab-sponsored payloads. To learn more about all ISS National Lab-sponsored research on this mission, please visit our website.

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Media Contact:
Patrick O’Neill
904-806-0035
PONeill@ISSNationalLab.org

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About the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory: The International Space Station (ISS) is a one-of-a-kind laboratory that enables research and technology development not possible on Earth. As a public service enterprise, the ISS National Laboratory® allows researchers to leverage this multiuser facility to improve quality of life on Earth, mature space-based business models, advance science literacy in the future workforce, and expand a sustainable and scalable market in low Earth orbit(Abbreviation: LEO) The orbit around the Earth that extends up to an altitude of 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Earth’s surface. The International Space Station’s orbit is in LEO, at an altitude of approximately 250 miles.. Through this orbiting national laboratory, research resources on the ISS are available to support non-NASA science, technology, and education initiatives from U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space® (CASIS®) manages the ISS National Lab, under Cooperative AgreementA cooperative agreement is Federal assistance that establishes a relationship between the U.S. Government and a recipient in which the principal purpose of the relationship is to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation.  Since 2011, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space™ (CASIS™) has managed the National Laboratory® through a Cooperative Agreement with NASA. with NASA, facilitating access to its permanent microgravity research environment, a powerful vantage point in low Earth orbit, and the extreme and varied conditions of space. To learn more about the ISS National Lab, visit our website.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, CASIS(Abbreviation: CASIS™) The nonprofit organization that manages the ISS National Lab, which receives at least 50 percent of the U.S. research allocation on the International Space Station to facilitate research that benefits humanity (NASA manages the other 50% and focuses on research for space exploration purposes). accepts corporate and individual donations to help advance science in space for the benefit of humanity. For more information, visit our donations page.