In a first-of-its-kind experiment, the unique conditions of space flight will be used to examine how cells remain healthy or succumb to disease, particularly in the face of stress or damage.
At Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Biodesign Institute researchers Cheryl Nickerson and her team, including Jennifer Barrila and Shameema Sarker, will see their latest experiment launched into low Earth orbit aboard the space shuttle Discovery on its upcoming STS-131 mission.
The goals of the team’s research are to provide fundamental new insight into the infectious disease process, and further understanding of other progressive diseases, including immune disorders and cancer.
Nickerson notes that the key to this research is the novel way that cells adapt and respond to the unique microgravity environment of spaceflight.
This is the third time that Nickerson and her ASU team have flown their NASA-funded experiments aboard a space shuttle.
Experiment goals
The current mission will be the first time that human cells will undergo infection by a pathogen in spaceflight. Specifically, this 13-day experiment, called STL-Immune, will characterize the effect of microgravity on intestinal cellular responses before and after infection with the food-borne pathogen, Salmonella typhimurium.
The goals of these experiments are twofold: to better understand the effect of spaceflight on human cells before and after infection with an invasive bacterial pathogen -information of vital importance for ensuring the safety of astronauts – and to gain insight into responses of human and pathogenic cells in their customary environment within the human body on Earth.
These conditions, Nickerson explains in an ASU press statement, can sometimes bear intriguing similarities to those observed during spaceflight, though this effect is often masked by gravity in conventional, Earth-based experiments.
Using space as a research platform, Nickerson adds, for such studies “has and will continue to advance our fundamental understanding of the disease process in cells and could lead to major advancements in human health.”
LD/CSE