# Deposition of data from ground and flight samples for sarcopenia MPS system

> **NIH NIH UH3** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2021 · $76,250

## Abstract

PARENT GRANT PROJECT SUMMARY
This grant application, in response to RFA-TR-18-001 “NIH-CASIS Coordinated
Microphysiological Systems Program for Translational Research in Space”, proposes an
outstanding collaborative effort among investigators at the University of Florida, College of
Pharmacy and Engineering and AdventHealth Translational Research Institute. Astronauts
suffer from muscle degeneration after prolonged spaceflight. These effects are largely
reversible; however, the intrinsic changes in skeletal muscle observed with age such as DNA
damage, cellular stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and senescence are likely to overlap
with cellular mechanisms induced in microgravity. Thus, studies in microgravity using human
tissue to model disease conditions may greatly contribute to development of clinically relevant
approaches to address muscle wasting in the elderly referred to as sarcopenia. The
number of elderly individuals over the age of 60 is growing at an unprecedented rate from
~11% of the global population today to ~21% by 2050. Therapeutic options to treat sarcopenia
are non-existent in part because of an incomplete understanding of the mechanisms
controlling age-related skeletal muscle dysfunction. Our team has developed a 2D millifluidic
lab-on-a-chip system to study human skeletal muscle cell growth and gene expression
changes in microgravity. We have established culture conditions for primary human myocytes
isolated from young, healthy and older, sedentary volunteers and have biological data
indicating that the cells retain the phenotype of the donor tissue. Furthermore, we have
fabricated a flight ready chip with multiple culture chambers. For this proposal, we plan to
develop a microphysiological (MPS) 3D system and incorporate electrodes into the chip. We
will determine electric field strength distribution using COMSOL modeling and optimize
conditions for electrically stimulating muscle myocytes embedded in a native extracellular
matrix. Our MPS will be integrated into a remote controlled, fully automated laboratory
complete with a fluid handling system, an optical detection system to record contraction, and
a software platform for near real-time control of the experiment on the ISS housed in the
TangoLab experimental flight facility. On a subsequent flight, we propose to test natural
products with anti-atrophy properties in the validated MPS. Drug delivery to the muscle
cultures will be facilitated via the addition of an administration port capable of delivering multiple
drug dilutions. Our next generation MPS system stands to be a leader in miniaturized lab
disease modeling to study pathophysiological changes in muscle tissue induced in
microgravity intended to advance drug efficacy and toxicological testing to treat muscle wasting.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10434403
- **Project number:** 3UH3TR002598-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Siobhan Malany
- **Activity code:** UH3 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $76,250
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-12-21 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10434403

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10434403, Deposition of data from ground and flight samples for sarcopenia MPS system (3UH3TR002598-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10434403. Licensed CC0.

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