Researchers Aim to Leverage Microgravity to Unlock the Underlying Causes of Neurodegenerative Diseases

CAPE CANAVERAL (FL), March 19, 2024 – Every six minutes, someone is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological disorder that can affect movement. And an estimated 200 people are diagnosed each week with multiple sclerosis, a progressive neurological disease that affects the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. To better understand the mechanisms behind these and other neurodegenerative diseases, researchers are leveraging the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) National Laboratory. The 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. environment may reveal new insights into how brain cells interact, and results from this research could ultimately lead to improved diagnostics and new therapeutics that would benefit millions of people worldwide.

Funded by the National Stem Cell Foundation (NSCF) and sponsored by the ISS National Lab, the project will send miniature 3D models of the human brain (called organoids) to the orbiting laboratory. The organoids were created using cells derived from patients with Parkinson’s and primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). Future flights will include organoids derived from the cells of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

According to NSCF CEO Paula Grisanti, this flight marks the foundation’s sixth investigation to fly to the space station. Through NSCF’s continuing research, the team hopes to better understand the process of inflammation in the brain and develop potential therapeutics that halt or better alleviate symptoms for affected patients.

“The world is increasingly looking to space for answers to questions about improving human health on Earth,” Grisanti said. “The completely unique research environment of microgravity allows us to observe cell interactions in a way not possible on the ground, enabling the advancement of biological discoveries that help us better understand and treat age-related diseases. These insights could have tremendous global and societal benefits.”

This investigation expands on a previous NSCF project that flew earlier this year as part of Axiom Space’s third private astronaut mission to the ISS. That project examined the behavior of 3D brain organoids derived from the cells of patients with Parkinson’s and PPMS over a two-week period. The current 33-day investigation will test the effects of therapeutics on neuroinflammation within the 3D brain models.

Previous studies indicate a link between inflammation and the onset of neurodegenerative diseases, and specialized immune cells within the central nervous system, called microglia, are known to play a key role in regulating inflammation. Like the recent Axiom investigation, this project will feature the addition of microglia to the organoids and continue studying how microgravity affects inflammation. “By adding microglia, common to all neurodegenerative diseases, we hope to better understand the neuroinflammation process and develop strategies for intervention,” Grisanti said.

“The 3D models we’ve created from the cells of people living with neurodegenerative diseases will provide an important new tool for drug discovery and development, clinical trial assessment, and personalized medicine applications,” she said. “It will give us a whole new way of not only looking at but also understanding how and why neurodegeneration occurs.”

NASA’s SpaceX CRS-30 mission is slated to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station no earlier than March 21, 2024, at 4:55 p.m. EDT. This mission will include more than 40 payloads sponsored by the ISS National Lab. To learn more about all ISS National Lab-sponsored research on this mission, please visit our launch page.

Download a high-resolution photo for the release: Brain Organoid Cells

View a video about this investigation: National Stem Cell Foundation Research

Note: The caption for the photo at the top of this press release has been updated with a correction to the original caption.

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 NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration, 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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