Two Studies Done To Help Mitigate The Effects Of Microgravity On The Heart
Written by Sanjana Anumukonda
The Engineered Heart 2 experiment and the Cardinal Heart 2.0 experiment are both ongoing studies that will be conducted in September 2023.
Prior to the Cardinal Heart 2.0 experiment, Kate Rubins conducted the Cardinal Heart experiment aboard the Expedition 64 in 2021. The Cardinal Heart experiment provided definitive proof of the harm and alterations that microgravity can do to the heart. Soon after, in September 2022, the Cardinal Heart 2.0 trial was launched, with findings expected in September 2023.
By using a beating heart, the Cardinal Heart 2.0 experiment pushes things one step further by examining whether there are any medications that may be utilized to counteract the effects of microgravity. According to Dilip Thomas, some of these medications include a statin and an anti-hypertensive medication for heart failure.
The 3D structures that made up the heart organoids that were launched into space were formed of cardiomyocytes (CMs), endothelial cells (ECs), and cardiac fibroblasts (CFs), all of which were produced from stem cells (Dinner, 2023).
In this experiment, tissue chips were crucial because they contain biological components that can be utilized to create a heart (Lanese, 2023). Then, using the modified heart tissue, it decided what kinds of medications may be utilized to lessen the effects of microgravity on the heart.
An eight-tissue chamber was transported to space as part of the 2019, The Engineered Heart Tissue experiment in order to study the precise effects of microgravity on these tissues. This study contributes to our understanding about the possible changes that may occur in the early stages of cardiac dysfunction and heart disease (The Cardiovascular System in Space: Focus on In Vivo and In Vitro Studies,2021). The Engineered Heart Tissue 2 experiment helps to determine a treatment that would allow them to control and maybe even avoid these alterations.
References:
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/its-always-heart-month-on-the-space-station/
Written by Sanjana Anumukonda from MEDILOQUY