Cancer stem cell organoids will be part of first fully private astronaut mission to International Space Station, slated to launch April 8
UC San Diego, the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine and the JM Foundation, in collaboration with Axiom Space, is sending the first bioreactors with cancer organoids that detect activation of cancer stem cell properties in real-time into low-Earth orbit aboard the International Space Station (ISS), part of an unprecedented private astronaut mission dubbed Axiom Mission 1 or Ax-1.
Cancer stem cells are a subpopulation of tumor cells that drive growth and relapse. They are often resistant to treatment. Organoids are tiny, self-organized, three-dimensional cell cultures that replicate much of the complexity of an organ or, in this case, tumor tissue.
Leveraging accelerated aging aspects of microgravity, Ax-1 crew will document biological changes in the tumor organoids, using a high-resolution microscope to monitor cell cycle activity over the course of the 10-day mission. The purpose is to identify biomarkers for early detection, interventional leads and lay the groundwork for future cancer stem cell research in space.
The multinational Ax-1 crew are all private citizens. They will travel to the ISS aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is scheduled for April 8, 2022 at 11:17 a.m. EDT, weather and conditions permitting. NASA and Axiom Space will broadcast the launch live. Axiom Space is a Houston-based company seeking to build and operate the first commercial space station in 2024.
The following UC San Diego School of Medicine experts are available to answer questions:
- Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD, Koman Family Presidential Endowed Chair in Cancer Research in the Department of Medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine and chief of the UC San Diego Division of Regenerative Medicine, director of the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center and CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic and deputy director of the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center
- Sheldon Morris, MD MPH, professor of medicine, UC San Diego School of Medicine and deputy director of the CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic at UC San Diego Health
Topics of Discussion:
- How do organoids advance medical research?
- Why send them into space?What do you hope to see or learn?
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