Nerve Cells on the ISS:
University of Hohenheim Examines How Cells Grow without Gravity [08.12.17]
Project NEUROBOX sends human nerve cells to the International Space Stations / Project looks at how nervous systems develop in space / Team accompanies mission with journals
How would the first person born in space develop? While it sounds like a question for a science fiction novel, it is the background of a current research project at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany. Starting on 6 December, a research team will send cells to the International Space Station in an incubator. For two weeks, the human cells will grow there in a zero-gravity environment before they are sent back to Earth in a transport capsule and analyzed in Hohenheim. In an online journal, the three-person team reports on the preparations for the mission (journal in German): membranphysiologie.uni-hohenheim.de/neurobox
They have experienced zero gravity themselves - but only for 22 seconds at a time. Dr. Florian Kohn and PD Dr. Claudia Koch from the Department of Membrane Physiology at the University of Hohenheim have already looked into cell behavior in zero-gravity conditions during parabolic flights. Now their research projects will head off into space without them to develop in a zero-gravity environment for two weeks.
The goal of the trip to space? “We want to see whether this process functions in zero gravity the same way that it does on Earth,” explained Dr. Kohn. “If a person is born in space someday, we will know whether their nervous system could develop normally in a zero-gravity environment.”
Because the cells need a few days to develop into nerve cells, they will fly to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral in their own incubator. Dr. Kohn sent them from Hohenheim for this purpose and will stay in Germany during the mission while his colleague PD Dr. Claudia Koch and Master’s student Pia Wieland will prepare them for the trip in Florida.
Preparations for the Trip to Space Documented in an Online Journal
Since 12 November, PD Dr. Koch has been at the Space Life Sciences Laboratory (SLSL) in Cape Canaveral to accompany the mission there. In the online journal, the team reports on the preparations for the mission, cooperation with the American colleagues, and the special requirements for working in Florida: “The safety instructions in the lab also include the question ‘What should you do if you run into an alligator?’” reported PD Dr. Koch.
At any time between 6-17 December, the green light could be given for the SpX-13 mission, which has already been delayed several times. Until then, PD Dr. Koch is keeping the cells ready so preparations for transport can be complete when the signal comes.
It is not the first time that Hohenheim researchers have sent cells up to lofty heights: In 2011, human cells from Hohenheim travelled into space with the Chinese space capsule Shenzhou-8 in the experimental system SIMBOX, and in 2015 they started from Sweden’s Kiruna on board the Texus 52 rocket.
Background: Nerve cells from tumor cell line
For their experiments, Dr. Koch and Dr. Kohn use human cells from the cell line SH-SY5Y. They come from tumor cells taken from a four-year-old girl in 1973. Since then, the cells - as is the case with cells from many other lines - are continually bred and used in research. Cells from this line can easily be developed into nervous cells and are therefore a recognized model system for nervous cells. For example, they are used in Alzheimer’s research.
Background: Basic research “Gravitationally independent structures in neuronal cells”
The project “Gravitationally independent structures in neuronal cells” began on 1 October 2015. The focus is on the question of why and how cells react to changing gravity. The findings from this research could not only benefit astronauts’ health someday but in the long-term also allow for a better understanding and optimization of the effects of medications on Earth.
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is funding the project through the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) with 527,592 euros over a period of three years. The head of the project is Dr. Florian P.M. Kohn from the Department of Membrane Physiology at the University of Hohenheim.
At the Space Life Sciences Lab the cells are being prepared for their trip.
Image: University of Hohenheim / Fg. Membranphysiologie
Dr. Koch and Dr. Kohn have experienced zero gravity themselves during parabolic flights.
Image: University of Hohenheim / Fg. Membranphysiologie
Dr. Claudia Koch is preparing the experiment for launch.
Image: University of Hohenheim / Fg. Membranphysiologie
Text: Töpfer / Barsch
Contact for press:
Dr. Florian P.M. Kohn, University of Hohenheim, Institute of Physiology, Department of Membrane Physiology,
T +49 711 459 24362, E Florian.P.M.Kohn@uni-hohenheim.de
