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Final shuttle mission includes College of Medicine experiment
Researchers Henry J. Donahue, the Michael and Myrtle Baker professor of orthopaedics and rehabilitation, left, and M.D./Ph.D. student Shane Lloyd developed a bone-density experiment that will be aboard the last space shuttle mission.
Hershey, Pa. -- When NASA’s final space shuttle mission begins on Friday, so will an experiment on bone density by researchers in the Penn State College of Medicine. They hope to learn more about the effects of microgravity on the conversion of stem cells to bone forming cells that create bone mass.
Ultimately, researchers hope to learn whether the weightless environment of space decreases the ability of stem cells, found in bone marrow, to turn into bone-forming cells in mice. That could lead to a better understanding of bone loss here on Earth.
“We are excited to be part of this historic mission. It will provide important new information that we will use to design experiments here on Earth that will allow us to better understand – and possibly treat – age-related bone loss,” said Henry J. Donahue, the Michael and Myrtle Baker professor of orthopaedics and rehabilitation.
For the duration of the space shuttle mission, M.D./Ph.D. student Shane A.J. Lloyd will work with other research groups out of the Space Life Sciences Lab at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. He will observe a control group of mice that will remain on the ground during the mission. Following the mission, Lloyd will compare the bone marrow in those mice to marrow collected from mice that were aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis.
Astronauts lose a significant amount of bone during spaceflight. On the ground, patients confined to their beds for long periods of time also lose bone mass, and that can lead to weaker bones and increased risk of fracture.
“The mechanisms underlying certain aspects of this process are not completely understood,” said Lloyd. “We will use this unique opportunity to discover how the zero-gravity environment of space affects the ability of stem cells to turn into bone-forming cells.” That eventually could lead to new treatments for bone loss associated with prolonged bed rest, aging, and post-menopausal osteoporosis, he said. Most people begin to experience some degree of bone loss after age 40, and this increases in women after menopause.
Penn State College of Medicine, located on the campus of Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pa., has a portfolio of more than $100 million in funded research. Projects range from the development of artificial organs and advanced diagnostics to groundbreaking cancer treatments and understanding the fundamental causes of disease.
