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SpaceX to Launch ‘Mighty Mice’ for NASA to Help Further Research on Muscle Wasting
SpaceX plans to launch several experiments to the International Space Station on Wednesday, December 5th.
Scientists are sending what they call “mighty mice” to the space station for the Rodent Research 19 (RR-19) experiment. This investigation will help researchers better understand how to prevent muscle and bone loss, both in space and on Earth, for people with debilitating medical conditions.
The RR19 experiment has two major parts. First, the “mighty mice” that will be flown to the station to be studied have been genetically engineered to lack “myostatin,” a protein that inhibits muscle cell growth and therefore causes the animals to be extremely muscular. (Here on Earth, animals and even people who have been born with less than “normal” amounts of myostatin are very muscular.)
The second half of this experiment will involve unaltered mice. Once these mice arrive, they will be treated with an experimental drug that will block myostatin as well as activin, which naturally inhibits bone mass growth. So, by blocking activin, the researchers hope to see if the mice maintain or even gain bone mass.
Humans who spend time in space experience both bone and muscle atrophy, and many people on Earth suffer from debilitating conditions that cause these conditions. With this experiment, researchers hope to better understand how to prevent bone and muscle loss.
“By testing this experimental drug, we are hoping to be able to test a novel, therapeutic method of combating both muscle loss and bone loss, not only in astronauts in space but really for a lot of people here on Earth,” co-investigator Emily Germaine-Lee, MD from Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, said during the teleconference. Information from: space.com
What do you think about this news? Are you interested in learning the results of this experiment when it comes available?
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