Key Points

Researchers from Emory University looked at cancer cells that proliferate -- grow and divide to produce more cells -- much more quickly in microgravity. Spaceflight also triggers cancer cell survival mechanisms, helping the cells better cope with the stressful environment.

In the paper, published in the journal Biomaterials, the researchers hypothesised that heart cells might exhibit similar behaviour.

This would address two current roadblocks in developing cell-based therapies for heart disease, said Chunhui Xu, a professor in the department of paediatrics.

After successfully testing the theory in a ground-based study using simulated microgravity, Xu and her team conducted two spaceflight investigations.

The first examined how stem cells differentiate into heart muscle cells, while the second looked at the maturation of heart muscle cells into tissue-like structures.

The insight gained from the team's space-based research could significantly advance methods to produce cardiac cells for regenerative therapies, helping to transform the landscape of heart disease treatment.

"The space environment provides an amazing opportunity for us to study cells in new ways," Xu said

"Our research on the ISS could allow us to develop a new strategy to generate cardiac cells more efficiently with improved survival when transplanted into damaged heart tissue, which would greatly benefit patients on Earth," she added.

The heart is a powerful muscle that pumps oxygen-rich blood throughout the body, but once heart muscle tissue is damaged, it becomes scarred and cannot regenerate. This makes it difficult for the heart to pump enough blood to meet the body's requirements.

The only option for people with end-stage heart failure is a heart transplant, but the number of people in need of a transplant far outnumbers the donor hearts available.

The team found that heart muscle cells generated in simulated microgravity were purer and more mature than those produced in normal gravity. Both characteristics are critical for cell replacement therapies.

"Not everyone can have a donor heart, so the research community has been looking for other ways to save patients by transplanting new heart cells into the damaged area," Xu said. "This is a very promising field, but there are also challenges.

- IANS