Scientists at Rosatom plan to grow a parathyroid gland on board the International Space Station, with the intention of later transferring it to Earth and implanting it into a laboratory animal.
"For the first time in the world, a functional biological system with a complex organic structure will be returned to Earth for implantation in an animal, most likely a mouse," says Vladislav Parfenov, director of the Scientific and Production Center for Medical Devices at the corporation, according to the corporation's weekly newspaper, StranaRosatom. "The original gland will be removed, and the implanted gland will be used to demonstrate its hormonal function."
The experiment is scheduled for 2028. For this to happen, the equipment must be designed this year to ensure it can be manufactured and tested. Due to the limited space in the International Space Station modules and the high cost of transporting cargo, the biofabrication device must be compact. It needs to be able to withstand the harsh conditions of space, and transporting the living cells requires the use of special biocapsules.
The parathyroid gland is a pair of glands located behind the thyroid gland; there are typically four of these glands in the human body. These glands secrete parathyroid hormone, which regulates calcium levels in the blood. For this experiment, the center will obtain induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are immunocompromised and represent the latest advancement in bioengineering. Using CRISPR-Cas gene-editing technology, scientists will reprogram these human stem cells to become general-purpose cells suitable for tissue culture, making them compatible with any patient and preventing immune rejection.
Parfenov adds, explaining: "The space phase will take about two weeks. We will send living cells in isolated containers to the International Space Station. There, an astronaut will activate them and place them in a bioreactor, where the parathyroid gland will form under the influence of physical fields. It will take some time for it to mature, after which the sample will be returned to Earth."
