ORCID Profile
0000-0003-1120-0246
Current Organisations
Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg Medizinische Fakultät
,
Otto von Guericke Universität Magdeburg
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Publications
The Fight against Cancer by Microgravity: The Multicellular Spheroid as a Metastasis Model
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 12-03-2022
DOI: 10.3390/IJMS23063073
Abstract: Cancer is a disease exhibiting uncontrollable cell growth and spreading to other parts of the organism. It is a heavy, worldwide burden for mankind with high morbidity and mortality. Therefore, groundbreaking research and innovations are necessary. Research in space under microgravity (µg) conditions is a novel approach with the potential to fight cancer and develop future cancer therapies. Space travel is accompanied by adverse effects on our health, and there is a need to counteract these health problems. On the cellular level, studies have shown that real (r-) and simulated (s-) µg impact survival, apoptosis, proliferation, migration, and adhesion as well as the cytoskeleton, the extracellular matrix, focal adhesion, and growth factors in cancer cells. Moreover, the µg-environment induces in vitro 3D tumor models (multicellular spheroids and organoids) with a high potential for preclinical drug targeting, cancer drug development, and studying the processes of cancer progression and metastasis on a molecular level. This review focuses on the effects of r- and s-µg on different types of cells deriving from thyroid, breast, lung, skin, and prostate cancer, as well as tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, we summarize the current knowledge of the impact of µg on cancerous stem cells. The information demonstrates that µg has become an important new technology for increasing current knowledge of cancer biology.
Growth of Endothelial Cells in Space and in Simulated Microgravity – a Comparison on the Secretory Level
Publisher: Cell Physiol Biochem Press GmbH and Co KG
Date: 17-04-2019
DOI: 10.33594/000000071
Abstract: Endothelial cells exposed to the Random Positioning Machine (RPM) reveal three different phenotypes. They grow as a two-dimensional monolayer and form three-dimensional (3D) structures such as spheroids and tubular constructs. As part of the ESA-SPHEROIDS project we want to understand how endothelial cells (ECs) react and adapt to long-term microgravity. During a spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) and a subsequent stay onboard, human ECs (EA.hy926 cell line) were cultured for 12 days in real microgravity inside an automatic flight hardware, specially designed for use in space. ECs were cultivated in the absence or presence of vascular endothelial growth factor, which had demonstrated a cell-protective effect on ECs exposed to an RPM simulating microgravity. After cell fixation in space and return of the s les, we examined cell morphology and analyzed supernatants by Multianalyte Profiling technology. The fixed s les comprised 3D multicellular spheroids and tube-like structures in addition to monolayer cells, which are exclusively observed during growth under Earth gravity (1g). Within the 3D aggregates we detected enhanced collagen and laminin. The supernatant analysis unveiled alterations in secretion of several growth factors, cytokines, and extracellular matrix components as compared to cells cultivated at 1g or on the RPM. This confirmed an influence of gravity on interacting key proteins and genes and demonstrated a flight hardware impact on the endothelial secretome. Since formation of tube-like aggregates was observed only on the RPM and during spaceflight, we conclude that microgravity may be the major cause for ECs' 3D aggregation.
Tissue Engineering Under Microgravity Conditions–Use of Stem Cells and Specialized Cells
Publisher: Mary Ann Liebert Inc
Date: 15-06-2018
Abstract: Experimental cell research studying three-dimensional (3D) tissues in space and on Earth using new techniques to simulate microgravity is currently a hot topic in Gravitational Biology and Biomedicine. This review will focus on the current knowledge of the use of stem cells and specialized cells for tissue engineering under simulated microgravity conditions. We will report on recent advancements in the ability to construct 3D aggregates from various cell types using devices originally created to prepare for spaceflights such as the random positioning machine (RPM), the clinostat, or the NASA-developed rotating wall vessel (RWV) bioreactor, to engineer various tissues such as preliminary vessels, eye tissue, bone, cartilage, multicellular cancer spheroids, and others from different cells. In addition, stem cells had been investigated under microgravity for the purpose to engineer adipose tissue, cartilage, or bone. Recent publications have discussed different changes of stem cells when exposed to microgravity and the relevant pathways involved in these biological processes. Tissue engineering in microgravity is a new technique to produce organoids, spheroids, or tissues with and without scaffolds. These 3D aggregates can be used for drug testing studies or for coculture models. Multicellular tumor spheroids may be interesting for radiation experiments in the future and to reduce the need for in vivo experiments. Current achievements using cells from patients engineered on the RWV or on the RPM represent an important step in the advancement of techniques that may be applied in translational Regenerative Medicine.
The effects of microgravity on differentiation and cell growth in stem cells and cancer stem cells
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 30-04-2020
DOI: 10.1002/SCTM.20-0084
Abstract: A spaceflight has enormous influence on the health of space voyagers due to the combined effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation. Known effects of microgravity (μg) on cells are changes in differentiation and growth. Considering the commercialization of spaceflight, future space exploration, and long-term manned flights, research focusing on differentiation and growth of stem cells and cancer cells exposed to real (r-) and simulated (s-) μg is of high interest for regenerative medicine and cancer research. In this review, we focus on platforms to study r- and s-μg as well as the impact of μg on cancer stem cells in the field of gastrointestinal cancer, lung cancer, and osteosarcoma. Moreover, we review the current knowledge of different types of stem cells exposed to μg conditions with regard to differentiation and engineering of cartilage, bone, vasculature, heart, skin, and liver constructs. Significance statement Microgravity provides a unique environment for cell culture and has been shown to induce cellular changes and processes that could not be achieved under normal gravitational conditions. Over the past years, it has therefore gained increasing importance in different research fields such as cancer research, where microgravity may help understanding and suppressing tumor metastasis, or tissue engineering, where it induces the scaffold-free formation of three-dimensional multicellular spheroids. This review will give a concise overview of the current knowledge on the effects of microgravity on stem cells and cancer stem cells, and will highlight novel therapeutic options derived from it.
Related Organisations
Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg Medizinische Fakultät
Location: Germany
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät
Location: Germany
Related Funding Activities
No related grants have been discovered for Marcus Krüger.