NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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Experiment/Payload Overview

Brief Summary

Space Tissue Loss - Microbial Immunity (STL-Microbial Immunity) is a Department of Defense Space Test Program payload examines how human cells respond to bacterial infections in space and if normal processes seen on Earth occur in the space environment. This experiment could yield valuable knowledge leading to advances in vaccine development and other therapeutics for treatment, prevention and control of infectious diseases on Earth.

Principal Investigator

Cheryl A. Nickerson, Ph.D., Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States

Co-Investigator(s)/Collaborator(s)

Information Pending

Payload Developer

Johnson Space Center, United States Department of Defense Space Test Program, Houston, TX, United States
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, United States

Sponsoring Space Agency

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Sponsoring Organization:

National Laboratory - Department of Defense (NL - DOD)

ISS Expedition Duration:

March 2010 - September 2010

Expeditions Assigned

23/24

Previous ISS Missions

The STL experiment model has not previously flown in the CCM, although the hardware has flown on several previous Space Shuttle mission.

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Experiment/Payload Description

Research Summary

• The Space Tissue Loss - Microbial Immunity (STL-Microbial Immunity) investigation examines how human cell culture responds to infection by bacteria in the microgravity environment in comparison to Earth normal gravity.



• This study will investigates the immune response of the cell, changes to the cell shape and structures, and gene expression patterns after the cells are infected with bacteria.



• The experiment will be a controlled study using parallel ground controls and inflight uninfected cells.

Description

The Space Tissue Loss - Microbial Immunity (STL-Microbial Immunity) experiment will be the first fundamental biology experiment to conduct an in-flight infection of human cells using pathogenic bacteria in microgravity. The goal of this experiment is two-fold, to characterize how human cells respond to bacterial infection during space flight, and to characterize human cell immune and stress responses to microgravity, thus providing unique insight into conditions faced by astronauts during space flight, as well as how cells in our bodies normally behave or transition to disease caused by infection, immune disorders or cancer. The knowledge gained from this work may eventually aid in the development of new treatments for infectious diseases, which remain a leading cause of death worldwide.

The Cell Culture Module (CCM) hardware used in STL investigations is designed specifically to study the effects of microgravity on cell culture. For this experiment, off-the-shelf hollow fiber bioreactors are used as basic cell support structures. The CCM allows controlled physiologic maintenance, manipulation, and testing of the cells. The CCM is a completely automated, temperature controlled system designed to help scientists study the effects of microgravity on cells in space. The study includes cultured tissue test materials in continuous flow modules.

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Applications

Space Applications

: Exposure to microgravity causes cells to react in a destructive cascade similar to wounds. This breakdown of tissue and function presents serious challenges to the health of humans in space. Astronauts traveling to the moon or Mars in microgravity may experience injury or, initiating the wound healing process. Astronauts exposed to pathogens in space may also experience reduced immune function and susceptibility to infection. The experiment results could help determine new and improved wound healing treatment for astronauts as well as provide further insight into bacteria/host interactions in space.

Earth Applications

Cellular and bacterial microgravity experiments are used to research methods of treating earth-bound injuries and infection where cellular degeneration and decreased immune response can occur in traumatic wounds and unused limbs. The application spans both military and civilian injuries and immune response on Earth.

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Operations

Operational Requirements

Four rails with individual flow paths and biocreactors will be housed inside the CCM hardware. Two rails will be used for each investigator. The configuration will allow for redundancy in experiments, increasing the probability of successful tests and samples returning to Earth for analysis.

Operational Protocols

The STL investigations are self contained and requires crew interaction for activation, status checks, and reentry. Rails will contain cell lines treated with different agents. Following return to Earth, the rails will be returned to the respective investigator for in-depth analysis.

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Results/More Information

Information Pending

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Related Web Sites

Flight Systems Implementation: Space Tissue Loss

US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command

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Publications

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Ground Based Results Publications

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ISS Patent Publications

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Related Publications

• Ishizaki K ,Nishizawa K ,Kato T ,Kitao H ,Han Z-B ,Hirayama J ,Suzuki F ,Cannon T F,Kamigaichi S ,Shimazu T ,Ikenaga M ,Genetic Changes Induced in Human Cells in Space Shuttle Experiment (STS-95) Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine 2001 72 794-798
• Landis W J,Hodgens K J,Block D ,Toma C D,Gerstenfeld L ,Spaceflight Effects on cultured embryonic chick bone cells The Journal of Bone and Mineral Research 2000 15 1099-1112
• Reece J ,Miller M ,Arnold M ,Waterhouse C ,Cohn L ,Delaplaine E ,Cannon T ,Continuous Oxygen Monitoring of Mammalian Cell Growth on Space Shuttle Mission STS-93 with a Novel Radioluminescent Oxygen Sensor Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology 2003 104 1-11
• Ikenaga M ,Hirayama J ,Kato T ,Kitao H ,Han Z-B ,Ishizaki K ,Nishizawa K ,Suzuki F ,Cannon T F,Fukui K ,Shimazu T ,Kamigaichi S ,Ishioka N ,Matsumiya H ,Gravity-Directed Calcium Current in Germinating Spores of Ceratopteris Richardii Planta 2000 210 607-610
• Effects of Orbital Spaceflight on Human Osteoblastic Cell Physiology and Gene Expression Bone 2000 26 325-331
• Landis W J,Hodgens K J,Block D ,Toma C D,Gerstenfeld L C,Effect of Space Flight on the Frequency of Micronuclei and Expression of Stress-Responsive Proteins in Cultured Mammalian Cells Journal of Radiation Research 2002 43 Suppl S141-S147
• Early Development of Fern Gametophytes in Microgravity Advances in Space Research 2003 311 215-220
• Landis W J,Hodgens K J,Block D ,Toma C D,Gerstenfeld L C,Profile and Analysis of Gene Expression Changes during Early Development in Germinating Spores of Ceratopteris Richardii Plant Physiology 2005 138 1734-1745

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Images

NASA Image - s118e10350: Seen in this image is the hardware that houses the Cell Culture Module - Immune Response of Human Monocytes in Microgravity (CCM-Immune Response) and the Cell Culture Module - Effect of Microgravity on Wound Repair: In Vitro Model of New Blood Vessel Development (CCM-Wound Repair) experiments. The experiments were flown on STS118/13A.1 in August 2007.

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