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A piece of GSI/FAIR's cutting-edge research is scheduled to be launched into space next year: the Biophysics department will be involved in one of the next scientific missions on the International Space Station (ISS) with a highly innovative research project. The “HippoBox” project was successfully reviewed by the German Space Agency at DLR and recently selected for participation in the CELLBOX-4 mission on the ISS. The aim of the project is to use brain organoids (“mini-brains”) to investigate neuroplastic changes in a specific area of the brain, the hippocampus – a question that is highly relevant for the medical preparation of future long-term missions in space.
On the campus of the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung and the international accelerator center FAIR, which is being built here, detailed planning of the experiment has already begun and an important milestone has been reached: The specially developed hardware has been delivered and numerous preliminary tests are currently underway to gain further experience, for example with the suitability of the provided materials.
Dr. Insa Schroeder and her team from the GSI Biophysics Department, headed by Professor Marco Durante, are leading the “HippoBox” project. Important contributions also come from the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Dr. Christian Liemersdorf, and from the University of Applied Sciences Cologne, Professor Sherif El Sheikh. The start-up company Yuri is involved with mission support and technical infrastructure. "We are extremely delighted about DLR's positive decision and are proud to be able to make a contribution to space medicine research with HippoBox. The possibility of studying human brain organoids in real weightlessness (= microgravity) in space opens up promising new perspectives for health care during long-term stays in space. It is important to precisely investigate the mechanisms underlying possible neuroplastic changes in the hippocampus of astronauts, which could become a showstopper for long-term missions," explains Dr. Insa Schroeder.
The experiment aims to answer exciting scientific questions: Do neuronal structures and their function change in microgravity? Are there ways to counteract such changes in the brain's network? The research results could have a decisive influence on future strategies for maintaining the cognitive health of space travelers, but could also provide new insights for research into depression and dementia on Earth.
Dr. Schroeder and her team are currently working on the cell culture box itself, a kind of mini-incubator, barely the size of the palm of one's hand. It will contain the organoids and take care of their supply. “It's a miniature laboratory,” explains Dr. Insa Schroeder, describing the unique research prospects offered by participation in the ISS program: the miniature laboratory will be in operation on the ISS for a full 14 days in real microgravity. This results in significantly more extensive research possibilities with the organoids than, for example, a parabolic flight with an airplane or a flight with the DLR MAPHEUS research rocket, whose ballistic flight enable comparatively short periods of microgravity (seconds to minutes).
The “HippoBox” project focuses on the hippocampus, the central hub in the brain where information from various sensory systems flows together. This brain region is responsible for memory performance and learning behavior e.g. for processing movement coordination. This is also a crucial point for astronauts: They have to make important decisions in space, safely and rationally, and also maintain their motor skills, such as dexterity. At the same time, messenger substances (neurotransmitters) in the human brain are constantly moving between nerve cells, requiring a strong neuronal network. However, there are indications that the neuronal cells may drift further apart in microgravity, resulting in fewer contact points and a weaker neuronal network, similar to what is observed in people with dementia or depression.
The hippocampal organoids, which are currently being prepared at GSI/FAIR, should provide new insights and show what effect neuroprotective substances that promote the growth of the contact points and the docking possibilities of the neurotransmitters could have. The organoids are a good representation of the human brain, and with their help many things can be clarified in advance, before animal experiments and clinical studies become necessary. The current research thus represents an important step towards avoiding risks for humans in space exploration. The identification of the molecular causes of cognitive and neuropsychological deficits, their development and their progression also plays a decisive role for medicine on Earth.
Organoids
Scientists are focusing on cerebral organoids that are grown in vitro (“in glass”, outside the body) with the help of human stem cells, for example to study behavior in microgravity or the effects of radiation therapy on the brain. These organoids are not fully formed organs, but are similar in structure and function to the human brain and therefore enable a more precise investigation of tissue reactions. Scientists hope that this will lead to substantial progress in research and medical therapies, not least for neurological diseases.
Cellbox program
The Cellbox program was launched in 2011 by the German Space Agency at DLR. Cellbox missions enable investigations into the effects of space conditions on cells, tissues and organoids. The experiments originate from the research fields of gravitational biology, physiology, molecular biology and biomedicine. They each run for several weeks and are conducted in a low earth orbit. The experiments are carried out in miniature laboratories about the size of a smartphone – the Cellbox experiment chambers – which are exposed to microgravity and/or 1g-conditions on a centrifuge in an incubator for several days or weeks.The Cellbox-4 and Cellbox-5 missions will orbit the Earth in a spacecraft for several weeks in 2026. Eight teams from German universities will carry out biological and biomedical experiments. The Cellbox missions are being carried out on behalf of the German Space Agency at DLR with funding from the Federal Ministry of Economics (BMWE).
Handover of the HippoBox hardware to the stem cell differentiation and cytogenetics group of GSI/FAI ...
Copyright: Smit Patel, YURI GmbH, Meckenbeuren
Preparation of the HippoBox project. In the photo Carola Hartel from the Biophysics department at GS ...
Copyright: Insa Schroeder, GSI
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