To help ensure astronauts don't arrive at their destination too weak to explore, NASA has teamed up with Pluristem, an Israeli biotech company. | Pluristem
It is one of the biggest hurdles NASA must overcome before astronauts embark on long duration space travel to Mars or building permanent settlements on the moon: how to minimize the heavy toll exacted on even the most physically fit human bodies in zero gravity. Indeed, when astronauts return from orbit they can barely even walk.
So to help ensure astronauts don't arrive at their destination too weak to explore, the space agency has teamed up with Pluristem, an Israeli biotech company, to investigate whether injecting them with cells derived from a mother's nutrient-rich placenta can increase muscle volume -- a process now in trials on Earth for the elderly.
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“When NASA saw this data, they gave us a call,” says Yaky Yanay, the co-CEO and president of Pluristem and co-chairman of Israel Advanced Technology Industries. “When you are in a zero gravity environment, you can lose 20 percent of your muscle mass” on spaceflights lasting between five and 11 days.
The experiment with NASA will include laboratory and animal studies before launching clinical trails in space. The research is just getting underway and expected to produce initial data this year, Yanay said in an interview.
This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
What is Pluristem doing on Earth?
Pluristem is a biotech company dealing with genetic medicine. Our product is derived from the placenta after a full term delivery. … One of the indications we’re developing is to treat patients following hip fracture. … The elderly population has a very slow recovery and very weak muscles [that can] lead to a lot of complications and up to 30 percent mortality in 12 months. We have presented a very compelling set of data that shows we are increasing the muscle volume in these patients by 500 percent. … These cells are off the shelf, so there’s no match needed [between the cells and the patient]. From one placenta, we can treat over 20,000 patients by injecting the cells into the muscle … The muscles respond by secreting a lot of proteins and biologics, providing the body the building blocks it needs for recovery.
How did the partnership with NASA emerge?
When NASA saw this data, they gave us a call and said the two medical conditions in space where there are big gaps are muscle wasting and radiation. This company is targeting both and has solutions for both clinical conditions. We are very pleased with this collaboration. … When astronauts get back after 200 days in space, they actually can not walk because of substantial muscle wasting. … NASA is looking for solutions.
What will those studies with NASA look like?
We’re going to do a series of laboratory studies as well as an animal model on Earth checking the ability of the cells to regenerate the muscle to support keeping the muscle volume in a zero gravity environment. … When you are in a zero gravity environment, you can lose 20 percent of your muscle mass per week. … The goal of the study is demonstrating that the animals receiving cells are able to preserve their muscle volume and muscle force at the end of the study. … We’re already treating patients after a hip fracture, so we’re going to have quite a lot of data. … With that we’ll do clinical studies … to see that it’s actually working in space.
What is the timeline of the NASA study?
The study is beginning now. We expect to see data in this year.
Would astronauts receive this treatment before, during or after space travel?
The answer depends on the mission. If we are looking at relatively short-term mission of about a week or two, we’ll use it before to avoid muscle wasting. … In the case of longer-term mission like the recent one for almost 200 days, we will have to use it before and during. Since we are an off-the-shelf product, it’s a simple intramuscular injection … that can be available in space or on long-term missions. This is what we are targeting.
NASA just announced last week that there is a lot of concern about muscle impact. ...We are all very eager to try to see if we are able to support that. … We’re also going to check different parameters to show we’re able to prevent radiation [damage.] … Cosmic radiation in space is quite high. There’s a lot of data to demonstrate that using cells after exposure to radiation can prevent or eliminate damages from radiation.
What impact does this have on people on Earth?
Space travel is big accelerator of time. The impact on the body is significantly [greater] than on Earth, but eventually ... all of us will age and lose muscle mass. ...We hope there will be studies that allow all of us to age better and have much better quality of life while we’re aging. … It’s something we can provide to astronauts … but it also has a significant impact on the day-to-day of all of us now
Are humans already receiving the treatment?
We are using it on patients … in the final study before approval. Hundreds of patients have received product for muscle regeneration following a hip fracture.
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