Crustaceans May Play A Role In Wound Healing

BioSTAR West and Harvey Mudd College (HMC) are collaborating on science experiments to be launched on the STS-118 Space Shuttle Endeavour mission scheduled for August 7, 2007.

HMC professors Shenda Baker and Elizabeth Orwin will work with investigators from Hawaii Chitopure Inc., BioSTAR West and the University of Louisville on studies of human cell responses in microgravity during the scheduled 11-day flight, according to HMC.

Baker and Orwin helped coordinate the research design and will provide oversight to the experiment, which is based on years of space flight efforts and headed up by William Wiesmann, M.D., president and CEO of Hawaii Chitopure Inc., senior managing partner of BioSTAR West and a trustee at Harvey Mudd College.

"I'm delighted to be a part of this outstanding team and have enjoyed contributing to these research efforts that should increase our understanding of the mechanisms of immune system failure following trauma," said Baker.

"We benefit from the long history and partnership of Dr. Wiesmann with NASA and Harvey Mudd College, as well as from the opportunity to continue to involve undergraduates and faculty in one of the most innovative and rare opportunities to study the systemic responses to trauma through human cell-based genomic and proteomic responses."

Astronauts and space-flown mammalian cells show a similar weakened immune response to wounds and injury. These experiments will study the effects of microgravity on wound repair and the ability of chitosan-based materials, a polysaccharide found in the shells of crustaceans, to accelerate the wound healing process, reduce infection and ultimately reduce wound scarring.

Because the effects of microgravity on immune and wound-healing cells are similar to the body's response following trauma on Earth, these experiments also offer an opportunity to observe the fundamental genetic responses to these compounds with and without infection.

"It's exciting to continue to be a part of the space program and to be able to include faculty and students from Harvey Mudd College," said Wiesmann. "It is interesting to note that on this planet, although environment and temperature and atmosphere have changed over the millennia, the one constant has been gravity. While bacterial cells seem to thrive in microgravity, mammalian cells have hindered responses to stimuli."

Researchers will examine the effect of microgravity on human monocytes, which are typically one of the first responders to infection and trauma, and will also be able to monitor the transformations of cells that return from space.

During the duration of the mission, the team will conduct an identical experiment simultaneously on Earth. Following the mission, analyses will be done to compare the space-based and ground-based cellular expression.

FMI: www.biostarwest.com, www.chitopure.com, www.louisville.edu