Abstract

Possibility of Application Examined From Clinical Research of Cell-based Therapy Using Microgravity

Louis Yuge, Professor & Main Director, Space Regenerative Medical Center, Hiroshima University

Microgravity is known to control cell cycle, cell proliferation, and differentiation. Gravity Controller “Gravite®” (Space Bio-Laboratories) is one of the 3D-clinostat. Gravite® is a multi-directional gravity device for simulating microgravity. By controlled rotation of two axes, a 3D-clinostat minimizes the cumulative gravity vector at the center of the device and makes 10-3G over time average. Our previous studies demonstrated simulated microgravity inhibited myoblasts and osteoblasts differentiation supporting data as gravitational space biology. Using Gravite®, we can culture underestimated stem cells, without drug treatment or gene manipulation. Our method of culturing stem cells therefore ensures safety and consistent quality at a reduced cost. We have demonstrated that using Gravite® results in a higher rate of stem cell proliferation than conventional methods. Regenerative medicine with MSCs has gained significant attention for the treatment of central nervous system diseases. We investigated the activity of human MSCs under simulated microgravity conditions. Neural-induced MSCs cultured under 1G conditions exhibited neural differentiation, whereas those cultured under microgravity did not. Moreover, under microgravity conditions, MSCs could be cultured in an undifferentiated state. Next, we intravenously injected cells into a model of cerebral contusion and spinal cord injury. Graft MSCs cultured under microgravity exhibited greater survival in the both neurological disorder models damaged region, and the motor function of the grafted animal models improved significantly. Currently, our TEAMS are conducting a clinical research project on cell therapy of cerebral infarction using cranial-derived mesenchymal stem cells (HUMAN Project: Hiroshima University MSC Applicative study for Neuro-regenerative therapy).