On a knee to grow basis - tissue engineering is going into orbit
Scientists' plans to grow tissues for knee cartilage in space may soon become a reality now that the European Space Agency (ESA) and researchers from academia and industry have signed a contract which should lead to the development of a 'space bioreactor'. This will be set up on the International Space Station, allowing scientists to observe how tissues grow in zero-gravity conditions. According to ESA, a weightless environment may provide better conditions than anywhere on Earth for obtaining proper three-dimensional cell structures. Currently, bioreactors are used in research laboratories around the world to cultivate bacteria, yeast or animal cells and, increasingly, tissues. The ability to grow healthy tissues outside a patient's body to a size and structure suitable for reimplantation, could help to address the shortfall in organ donations vitally needed by patients around the world. Scientists also argue that reimplantation is a promising alternative to transplantation of tissues from donors, because it might overcome the problem of rejection of 'foreign' tissues and organs. Indeed, growing tissue samples in vitro in a bioreactor is now a major goal in medical research. The decision to develop a bioreactor in space follows a proposal to ESA from Swiss scientist Professor August Cogoli. The Professor's team suggested the using a bioreactor in space for the mass cultivation of knee cartilage - urgently needed by many patients in their 20s to 50s. The peer review panel was impressed: 'Only microgravity conditions will allow an appropriate cell contact that is stable in position while loose in cohesiveness,' it reported. 'The principles of in vitro cell culture have been known for almost 100 years, but only in the last 10 to 20 years has the cultivation of mammalian cultures increased significantly, leading to the creation of the discipline of tissue engineering. These techniques are expected to revolutionise biomedical and surgical procedures in the near future', says ESA. The modular space bioreactor is one of over 50 projects, which will look at applications in zero-gravity conditions aboard the International Space Station. The project is being sponsored by ESA's Microgravity applications promotion programme and is being funded jointly with the participating scientific research institutes and industry, A major aspect of this work is the setting up of pan-European teams and networks supported by ESA, including sponsoring of space flight opportunities and associated ground-based activities.