# "Clinical Trials" on a Premature Vascular Aging-on-a-Chip Model

> **NIH NIH UH3** · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · 2022 · $135,281

## Abstract

Abstract
Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is a genetic disorder that results in premature and accelerated
aging, while accumulation of progerin also occurs during physiological aging. Our paratal project seeks to
optimize a biomimetic HGPS-on-a-chip system generated with patient-derived fibroblasts (FBs), smooth
muscle cells (SMCs), and endothelial cells (ECs) that allow application of relevant cyclic stretch for performing
‘clinical trials’ or informing clinical trial designs for HGPS patients. Given the unique microgravity environment
of the International Space Station-National Lab (ISS-NL), which has been shown before to pose various
negative effects on vascular cell phenotypes, this supplement further aims at developing a methodology to
enable in-space bioprinting of multi-layered, high-cell-density, bioreactor-integrated vascular conduits through
Techshot’s BioFabrication Faclity (BFF) at the International Space Station-National Laboratory (ISS-NL), and
studying premature vascular aging under microgravity. Successful completion of the proposed supplement
project will be transformative in multiple aspects. First, it will demonstrate a unique in-space BFF utility through
the use of new bioink formulations for the bioprinting of a new tissue type not previously done. Yet, while we
target vascular bioprinting, we anticipate that the technology is applicable to many other tissue types with
necessary modifications. Second, the biological study will benefit life both in space and on Earth. Vascular
aging is a pressing medical problem that affects millions of people, and is potentially also a major pathological
manifestation for astronauts especially for future deep-space missions. Under our hypothesis that vascular
conduits bioprinted with HGPS cells will manifest a pathologically relevant premature aging phenotype that is
more severely affected by the space microgravity environment than those with healthy cells and those on
Earth, we anticipate grasping additional fundamental knowledge regarding the underlying mechanisms of
vascular aging in both children and adults in association with developmental biology, which will further instruct
prevention and therapeutic interventions in the future in HGPS and beyond.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10691727
- **Project number:** 3UH3TR003274-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Y. Shrike Zhang
- **Activity code:** UH3 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $135,281
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-09-16 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10691727

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10691727, "Clinical Trials" on a Premature Vascular Aging-on-a-Chip Model (3UH3TR003274-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10691727. Licensed CC0.

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