Scientists from ETH Zurich have successfully printed complex muscle tissue in microgravity conditions. The discovery will allow for future testing of drugs designed for space missions. This is reported by UNN with reference to ETH Zurich and Phys.
Details
Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich have successfully produced complex muscle tissue in zero-gravity conditions. To grow muscle tissue under the most precise conditions, the research group led by Parth Chansoria used parabolic flights to simulate the microgravity of space for a short period of time.
Context
Human health is a critical issue in space travel. During spaceflight, astronauts' bodies undergo significant changes in microgravity conditions. Developing scientists are making efforts to find realistic models to protect specialists flying in space.
Creating delicate biological structures, such as muscle tissue, is a significant challenge under normal gravitational conditions on Earth. But in microgravity, destructive forces disappear – as it turned out, developers are able to create muscle fibers without structural stress in such conditions.
For 3D printing, a special substance called bio-ink was used in the experiment, which consists of a carrier mixed with living cells.
There were certain concerns:
- the weight of the bio-ink and embedded cells can lead to the collapse or deformation of structures before the material hardens;
- cells may not be evenly immersed in the bio-ink, leading to less realistic models.
Using a special bio-resin, the team performed 3D printing during the zero-gravity phases of 30 parabolic cycles.
The results showed that tissue printed in microgravity had similar cell viability and muscle fiber count as tissue printed under gravity.
In addition, the developed process allows for long-term storage of cell-filled bio-resins, which is ideal for future space applications.
Prospects in the development of new treatments
The successful production of muscle structures in microgravity is a significant advance in tissue engineering in space research and biomedicine.
The implementation of these methods for creating organoids and complex human tissues on board the International Space Station is quite likely in the near future.
Thanks to these "organ models," researchers can conduct fundamental research in space. This will also be useful for studying diseases such as muscular dystrophy or muscle atrophy caused by weightlessness. In addition, the open methods can be used to test the effectiveness of therapies in a system that better reflects the complexity of the human body
Recall
Scientists at the University of Minnesota have developed a 3D-printed scaffold with stem cells that restored motor function in rats with spinal cord injuries.
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