Space-Grown Brain Organoids Help Advance New Neurological Treatment - ISS National Lab
An image captured during in-orbit microscopy showing a human brain organoid model of iSPC-derived neurons and astrocytes expressing a neuron-specific AAV vector-delivered gene. Media Credit: Axonis Theraputics November 21, 2024 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (FL), November 21, 2024 – Did you know some viruses don’t cause illness and can instead be used to treat disease? Biotechnology startup Axonis Therapeutics reprogrammed a virus to carry a novel gene therapy to neurons to treat neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and spinal cord injury. The company needed a way to test the therapeutic in a mature human brain model, which is difficult to produce on Earth. To address this challenge, Axonis leveraged the International Space Station (ISS International Space Station ) National Laboratory to quickly grow 3D human brain organoids and test the therapeutic. The team’s groundbreaking research is featured in the latest issue of Upward, official magazine of the ISS National Lab. In the