Microgravity Significantly Influences Neural Stem Cells Size and Numbers: Implications for Long-term Space Missions

Abstract

There are two approaches used to study the effects of microgravity on cells -- using simulated microgravity on Earth (sim-µG) or sending cells to space (SPC-µG). We have recently reported that human neural stem cells (NSCs) proliferated seven-times more while in space than Ground Control (GC) NSCs on Earth. Here, using time-lapse microscopy, we determined that in both sim-µG and SPC-µG there are two cell subpopulations distinguished by differences in somatic diameter