Accelerated Model of Age-Related Muscle Loss in Microgravity Could Lead to New Sarcopenia Treatments

ISS National Lab Enables Valuable Muscle Tissue Chip Studies in Microgravity

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., Oct. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — According to the World Health Organization, more than 50 million people around the world have sarcopenia. This age-related condition causes loss of muscle mass, strength, and function and increases the risk of falls and bone fractures. Currently, the only treatment for sarcopenia is exercise. Through ISS National Lab-sponsored research, University of Florida researchers successfully modeled age-related muscle loss using tissue chips in microgravity. The model can be used to test new treatments and study sarcopenia in ways not possible on Earth.

The team’s research is detailed in an article in the latest issue of Upward, official magazine of the ISS National Lab. Principal investigator Siobhan Malany, associate professor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Florida, commented on the value of space-based research in Upward, saying, “Through insight we gather from microgravity, we can understand not just the end result of [sarcopenia], but really look at the progressive change in young and old cells to see what happens as cells age.”

Age-related muscle changes are hard to study because they happen slowly over decades. In microgravity, muscle deterioration is accelerated, allowing researchers to analyze muscle loss on a much quicker timescale. In a series of investigations funded by the National Institutes of Health, the team developed a muscle tissue chip system and tested whether microgravity-induced muscle loss in space mimics age-related muscle loss on Earth. The tissue chips contained muscle bundles engineered using skeletal muscle cells from young, active adults and older, sedentary individuals. Some tissue chips also contained electrodes that delivered electrical stimulation to induce contraction in the muscle bundles. 

Results showed that in microgravity, several genes associated with human muscle aging on Earth were upregulated (had increased expression) in the tissue chips containing cells from young active adults. These findings validate that the space-based muscle tissue chip system provides an accurate model of age-related muscle loss. The system provides a valuable new tool for researchers to improve their understanding of sarcopenia and test new potential therapeutics. 

Initial findings were published in npj Microgravity, and the team is currently working on several additional publications. Malany recently received an award for these compelling results at the 2024 ISS Research and Development Conference.

See how Malany and her team are using muscle tissue chips in space to help people with sarcopenia on Earth in the Upward feature, “The Beauty of Accelerated Aging.”

Download a high-resolution photo for this release: preparing hardware for flight

About the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory:
The International Space Station (ISS) is a one-of-a-kind laboratory that enables research and technology development not possible on Earth. As a public service enterprise, the ISS National Laboratory® allows researchers to leverage this multiuser facility to improve quality of life on Earth, mature space-based business models, advance science literacy in the future workforce, and expand a sustainable and scalable market in low Earth orbit. Through this orbiting national laboratory, research resources on the ISS are available to support non-NASA science, technology, and education initiatives from U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space™ (CASIS™) manages the ISS National Lab, under Cooperative Agreement with NASA, facilitating access to its permanent microgravity research environment, a powerful vantage point in low Earth orbit, and the extreme and varied conditions of space. To learn more about the ISS National Lab, visit our website.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, CASIS accepts corporate and individual donations to help advance science in space for the benefit of humanity. For more information, visit our donations page.

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SOURCE International Space Station National Lab