By launching immune cells into space and studying changes in gene expression, Dr. Cora Thiel and Professor Oliver Ullrich are aiming to develop treatments to help astronauts resist the damaging effects of long-term space travel.
Visiting the Esrange Space Center
Long-term space travel weakens the immune system and ultimately limits how far humans can travel beyond Earth’s orbit. To tackle this issue, Dr. Cora Thiel and Professor Oliver Ullrich are leading cutting-edge research at the remote Esrange Space Center in Kiruna in northern Sweden.
Dr. Regine Stoll (Senior Global Product Manager from QIAGEN) went to meet Cora just before a launch to find out how our RNeasy Kits are contributing to their latest discoveries. Regine said: "Being in this unusual location and seeing a rocket launch feels like a science fiction movie, and it's exciting to see our products used for such fascinating research.”
Preparing for the perfect launch
During Regine's visit, Cora described the details of the team's pre-launch preparations. After 4-6 months of detailed planning, the team steps off the plane in Kiruna and arrives in what feels like another world; it’s extremely cold and peaceful and the sky is full of unfamiliar stars. The final stretch of the journey is a hazardous 40 km drive on icy, unlit roads. When they finally reach the space center, there’s no respite; they work through the night setting up the labs and culturing lymphocytes – the key component of their experiments.
Every waking hour for the next few weeks is filled with maintaining vast numbers of cells, running tests, taking inventories, setting up equipment and keeping supplies topped-up. Two groups of three people work in continuous shifts to make sure that the cells are always 100% ready for launch.
As the launch date approaches, the rocket is assembled in the rusty start tower – a result of oxidation caused by acid vapors created during launches. With the rocket in place and the cells in good shape, they wait for perfect weather. To relax, they spend time enjoying the Northern lights, jogging in the forest and celebrating a typical Zurich Spring festival.
Cora explained that, “The wind direction must be optimal to calculate where the rocket will land and to make sure that the local residents are not in danger. Even the whereabouts of the reindeer herds need to be checked.”
Liftoff!
Three hours before liftoff, 35 modules containing three syringes of cells, medium or an RNA-preserving reagent are placed in an automated operating system and mounted securely inside the rocket. Everyone gathers in the protective bunker before the button of “no return” is finally pressed. The rocket reaches an altitude of 260 km and the precious cell cargo experiences 6 minutes of microgravity. The modules immediately come to life as the medium and RNA-preserving reagent are remotely injected into the cell suspension. This continues throughout the flight to make sure that any changes in gene expression are recorded. As the rocket begins its rapid descent back to Earth, the team rapidly locates it using GPS and finishes extracting the RNA using our trusted RNeasy Midi Kit.
Cora added that, “After the payload is rescued, sample processing starts immediately. After overcoming all the challenges from the start until getting the samples back to Zurich, we need to be 100% sure that the RNA isolation is successful. We're exhausted after 4 weeks of high pressure without a day off; nevertheless, work continues as the lab is cleared and transported back to Zurich. What would normally take weeks, we complete in two days.”
Back in Zurich, the team is using microarray analysis to identify which immune genes respond to changes in gravity. Have their efforts paid off? What will they discover? Will their findings change the future of space travel?
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References
Thiel, S. C., et al. (2015)
Identification of reference genes in human myelomonocytic cells for gene expression studies in altered gravity. BioMed Research International.
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