Assessing Long-Term Effects of Radiation Exposure in Engineered Heart & Vascular Tissues

Science Objectives

Space radiation is one of the greatest health threats for space exploration, and exposure to ionizing radiation can cause serious heart diseases. The investigation, “Assessing Long-Term Effects of Radiation Exposure in Engineered Heart & Vascular Tissues,” aims to understand how and why space radiation exposure causes human disease by using heart and blood vessel-like tissues created with stem cell biology and tissue engineering technology. The results from this investigation will provide better insight into the causes of radiation-induced heart disease (RIHD) which can potentially lead to drug development to counter RIHD.

Gray horizontal tubular structure which has a thin center and thicker sides.
​3D engineered heart tissue (EHT) beats within a tissue chip. Understanding the molecular changes associated with cardiac dysfunction post radiation exposure may contribute to discovery of novel therapeutic targets for clinical application.

Experiment Description

A conventional risk assessment for radiation-induced degenerative effects is restricted to irradiation experiments on animal models or immortalized cell lines which lack the genetic diversity often found in the human population. The goal of this investigation is to establish the engineered heart-like and vessel-like tissues from human iPSC and to characterize functional and molecular changes after irradiation.

Space Applications

Space radiation is one of the greatest health threats for space exploration. Results from this investigation will improve our understanding of heart disease caused by space radiation exposure. Interventions can be developed once the details are understood.

Earth Applications

Cancer patients that have undergone radiation therapy and nuclear power plant workers are prone to radiation induced heart disease. This investigation will improve our understanding of heart disease caused by radiation exposure. Interventions can be developed once the details are understood.

Team

Principal Investigator

Joseph C. Wu, MD, PhD
Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States

Co-Investigators

Peter W. Grabham, PhD
Columbia University, New York, New York, United States

Everett Moding, MD, PhD
Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States

Afshin Beheshti, PhD
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, United States

Wing Wong, PhD
Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States

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