Scientists at the University of California (UC) San Diego will be the first to test two cancer therapies in space, launching new stem cell experiments onto the International Space Station. They’ll also be looking at how space affects the stem-cell health of astronauts.
“Space is a uniquely stressful environment,” said Catriona Jamieson, professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine and director of the Sanford Stem Cell Institute. “By conducting these experiments in low Earth orbit, we are able to understand mechanisms of cancer evolution in a compressed time frame and inform the development of new cancer stem cell inhibitory strategies.”
The scientists from the Sanford Stem Cell Institute at UC San Diego are taking advantage of microgravity conditions, which can accelerate aging, inflammation and immune dysfunction in human stem cells. Not only will this expand our knowledge about keeping astronauts healthy, but it could also provide useful information about treating cancer on Earth.
This is the second mission onto the International Space Station (ISS) via the Axiom Space Private Astronaut Mission. The first, Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1), looked at developing predictive models for immune dysfunction and pre-cancerous stem cells. The researchers found that cancer stem cells seemed to regenerate more easily in low Earth orbit and became resistant to standard therapies.
For their second outing, Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2), the scientists have sent organoid models of leukemia, colorectal and breast cancer into low Earth orbit to understand how cancers adapt to become resistant to standard therapies. They will test two ADAR1 inhibitors – Fedratinib and Rebecsinib – to see if they reverse the generation of cancer cells and affect cancer progression. Overexpression of ADAR1 allows cancer cells to evade the body’s natural immune responses.
The scientists will also conduct a longitudinal study to monitor the health of the ISS’s astronauts, tracking stem cells before, during, and after spaceflight. Blood samples will be analyzed to assess the activity of DNA and RNA-editing enzymes linked to immune dysfunction and pre-cancerous changes. The information obtained will help researchers understand how these enzymes are associated with these conditions and develop potential countermeasures.
The experiments, part of the NASA-funded Integrated Space Stem Cell Orbital Research (ISSCOR) Center, will be conducted over 10 days, after which the data will be collected and analyzed at UC San Diego.
“With the growing support of NASA, philanthropic funders and our partners in commercial spaceflight, this is just the beginning of a long line of exciting and impactful health science advances that will be enabled by space,” Jamieson said.
Source: UC San Diego