Following the return of astronaut Scott Kelly after a year in space comparisons with his twin showed large pathological changes in many organs, it is still not clear why this occurs; this is a growing concern with sending astronauts to Mars and on longer space flights. Understanding the morphology of cells using cell-culture and the physiological and pathophysiological changes that a cell undergoes when subjected to stress, like when exposed to radiation or in reduced gravity, is beneficial to human health and can be applied to many conditions including osteoporosis, muscle atrophy and organ damage (Biolo et al., 2003; Honda et al., 2014). There are still many limitations with traditional two-dimensional monolayer culture, including distortion of shape due to growth area restraints. This has led to the introduction of 3D cell-culturing; the resulting cultures more closely mimic the pattern of cell growth in vivo (Antoni et al., 2015). This enables a far more accurate representation of the morphology of these cells and their interactions with their microenvironment, providing invaluable information for development of treatments and progression of healthcare. 3D culture allows for experiments which generate data that would otherwise require an animal model which is costly and time consuming (Pampoloni, Reynaud and Stelzer, 2007). The aim of this study was to optimise a 3D cell culture model that can be used to grow mammalian cells on the BAMMSat that is currently being developed by Professor David Cullen at Cranfield University.
Parul, Aishah
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Year: 2017
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