Microgravity Studies of Cells and Tissues

Abstract: Controlled in vitro studies of cells and tissues under the conditions of microgravity (simulated on Earth, or actual in space) can improve our understanding of gravity sensing, transduction, and responses in living cells and tissues. This paper discusses the scientific results and practical implications of three NASA‐related biotechnology projects: ground and space studies of microgravity tissue engineering (JSC‐Houston), and the development of the cell culture unit for use aboard the International Space Station (ARC‐Ames).

[1]  A. D. Krikorian,et al.  Growth and Photosynthetic Responses of Wheat Plants Grown in Space , 1996, Plant physiology.

[2]  G. Vunjak‐Novakovic,et al.  Cultivation of cell–polymer tissue constructs in simulated microgravity , 1995, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[3]  A. D. Krikorian,et al.  Effects of spaceflight on growth and cell division in higher plants. , 1992, Advances in space biology and medicine.

[4]  B. Obradovic,et al.  Bioreactor cultivation conditions modulate the composition and mechanical properties of tissue‐engineered cartilage , 1999, Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society.

[5]  M L Lewis,et al.  Effects of microgravity on osteoblast growth activation. , 1996, Experimental cell research.

[6]  Rupert Gerzer Space physiology and medicine , 1982 .

[7]  Nancy D. Searby,et al.  DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A SPACE STATION CELL CULTURE UNIT , 1998 .

[8]  P. Lelkes,et al.  Growing tissues in microgravity , 1998, Nature Medicine.

[9]  G. Vunjak‐Novakovic,et al.  Tissue engineering of cartilage in space. , 1997, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[10]  R Langer,et al.  Collagen in tissue‐engineered cartilage: Types, structure, and crosslinks , 1998, Journal of cellular biochemistry.

[11]  R J Cohen,et al.  Cardiac muscle tissue engineering: toward an in vitro model for electrophysiological studies. , 1999, American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology.

[12]  D. Wolf,et al.  Cell culture for three-dimensional modeling in rotating-wall vessels: an application of simulated microgravity. , 1992, Journal of tissue culture methods : Tissue Culture Association manual of cell, tissue, and organ culture procedures.

[13]  R Langer,et al.  Selective differentiation of mammalian bone marrow stromal cells cultured on three-dimensional polymer foams. , 2001, Journal of biomedical materials research.

[14]  M. Wiederhold,et al.  Development of gravity-sensing organs in altered gravity. , 1997, Gravitational and space biology bulletin : publication of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology.

[15]  L. Freed Tissue culture bioreactors ; chondrogenesis as a model system , 1997 .

[16]  W J Oosterveld,et al.  Swimming behavior of fish during short periods of weightlessness. , 1996, Aviation, space, and environmental medicine.

[17]  Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic,et al.  CHAPTER 13 – TISSUE ENGINEERING BIOREACTORS , 2000 .

[18]  R Langer,et al.  Chondrogenesis in a cell-polymer-bioreactor system. , 1998, Experimental cell research.

[19]  Susanne E. Churchill,et al.  Fundamentals of Space Life Sciences , 1997, Nature Medicine.

[20]  G. Vunjak‐Novakovic,et al.  Gene transfer of a human insulin-like growth factor I cDNA enhances tissue engineering of cartilage. , 2002, Human gene therapy.

[21]  R Langer,et al.  Tissue engineering of functional cardiac muscle: molecular, structural, and electrophysiological studies. , 2001, American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology.

[22]  A Ratcliffe,et al.  Tissue engineering of cartilage. , 2000, Methods in molecular biology.

[23]  F J Schoen,et al.  Cardiac tissue engineering: cell seeding, cultivation parameters, and tissue construct characterization. , 1999, Biotechnology and bioengineering.