On a mission to grow human organs in space

Scientists around the world are looking for ways to enable humans to regrow tissue — or even entire organs — lost from illness or injury. Now the quest has extended into space, with stem cell research on Tianzhou 1, China’s first cargo spacecraft, poised to provide the first exploratory steps.

Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Zoology are conducting experiments on Tianzhou 1, which was launched on Thursday, to study the effects of microgravity on embryonic stem cell proliferation and differentiation.

The craft is carrying mouse embryos and stem cells. Scientists will observe the process of their proliferation and differentiation in space through imaging, while parallel experiments will be conducted on the ground to compare the results, lead researcher Duan Enkui said.

“We hope to gain an initial understanding about the effects of space microgravity on stem cell proliferation and differentiation,” Duan said.

As the basis of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine research, stem cell biology is regarded as one of the most important research fields of the 21st century.

Embryonic stem cells are capable of giving rise to a variety of specialized cells in the body. One of their main characteristics is their ability to self-renew or multiply while maintaining the potential to develop on different tracks. Stem cells can become cells of the blood, heart, bones, skin, muscles, brain or other body parts. They are valuable as research tools and might be used in the future to treat a wide range of ailments.

The study of microgravity’s effect on the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells is a hot topic in the field of space life science.

“In ground experiments simulating microgravity conditions, we found the differentiation ability of mouse embryonic stem cells is enhanced. We also discovered the key gene responsible for this change and the molecular signaling pathway,” said Lei Xiaohua, a member of the research team.

“Can we use microgravity conditions to realize largescale proliferation of stem cells and tissue engineering construction? That’s what we want to find out.”

As ground experiments are conducted in simulated microgravity, scientists must move the study to a real microgravity environment in space to understand how it will affect the proliferation and dif- ferentiation of embryonic stem cells, he said.

The experiment could lead to new methods for in vitro reproduction of embryonic stem cells, and might suggest new ways to apply stem cells in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, Lei said.

“Maybe scientists will be able to induce stem cells to grow into certain tissues or organs in space to serve people on Earth. In another scenario, if a human is injured and loses organs in space migration, the lost organs could be regenerated,” Lei said.

Previously, the research team conducted a series of space life science experiments on China’s recoverable satellites SJ 8 and SJ 10.

“We expect to continue our research into embryonic stem cells on China’s future space station,” Lei said. “We aim to culture functional tissue, such as heart, kidney, liver and spleen tissue.”

Current life science experiments on Tianzhou 1 are done by remote control, which is difficult, he said. In the future, scientists hope to enter China’s space station to personally conduct experiments.

We hope to gain an initial understanding about the effects of space microgravity on stem cell proliferation and differentiation.” Duan Enkui, lead researcher of stem cell research on Tianzhou 1