New Therapeutic for Cartilage Regeneration Will Fly to the Space Station to Improve Arthritis Treatments on Earth

CAPE CANAVERAL (FL), January 19, 2024 – About one in four adults are affected by arthritis, which can wreak havoc on joints by breaking down the cushioning, called cartilage, between bones. Currently, once cartilage deteriorates, there is no way to replace it. However, researchers from the University of Connecticut are turning to the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) National Laboratory to try to change that.

Yupeng Chen, an associate professor in the department of biomedical engineering at the University of Connecticut, is leveraging 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. conditions on the space station to test an innovative DNA-inspired Janus base nanomaterial that may help repair cartilage. The experiment is set to launch on Northrop Grumman’s 20^th 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..

In this fundamental science investigation, which is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Chen will send engineered cartilage tissue, housed in a Space Tango CubeLab, to space to evaluate how effective a nanoparticle therapeutic is at overcoming cartilage deterioration caused by microgravity. Results from this investigation could lead to improved treatments for patients with degenerative joint diseases.

“We’re testing an injectable solid nanomaterial that can be used to repair damaged cartilage,” Chen said. “If our nanomaterial can overcome the negative impact of microgravity, we can use this not only for artificial tissue engineering in space but also to help patients on Earth regenerate their cartilage.”

Mechanical stimulation (walking, running, etc.) is important to overall cartilage health; without it, cartilage can start to degrade. “On Earth, patients who are immobilized due to injury or disease can lose cartilage over time, and once the tissue starts to degrade, it has limited means to repair itself,” Chen said.

Similar cartilage deterioration has been observed in astronauts in space. Because of the lack of mechanical loading in microgravity, cartilage can degrade over time during spaceflight, making the space station an ideal test bed for cartilage regeneration therapies. Chen and his team want to see how well their nanomaterial therapeutic can repair cartilage in space.

“In microgravity, a unique and challenging environment, we can determine whether our nanomaterials can withstand the adverse effects of space,” said Chen. “The findings can be used to help patients on Earth regenerate their cartilage. Additionally, thanks to the injectability of our nanomaterials, we can reproduce authentic cartilage tissue within microfluidic chips. These cartilage tissue chips can then be used to investigate disease mechanisms and formulate new therapeutics, both on Earth and in space.”

The mission is targeted for launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station no earlier than January 29 at 12:29 p.m. EST. This mission will include more than a dozen ISS National Lab-sponsored payloads. To learn more about all ISS National Lab-sponsored research on this mission, please visit our launch page.

The ISS National Lab and NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration will host a prelaunch science webinar on January 26 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss a variety of research investigations slated to launch on NG-20. For more information and to register, please view our webinar advisory.

Download a high-resolution for this release: University of Connecticut’s Cartilage Tissue Chip

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™(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).) 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.

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