Background

Keeping living cell cultures viable during spaceflight involves more than adapting to microgravity. Transport and launch delays can leave cells without controlled incubator conditions for longer than planned.

Fredriksson et al. 2026 studied how mouse boundary cap neural crest stem cells responded to these challenges during Axiom Mission 3 to the International Space Station. These cells can develop into neurons and glial cells. The researchers compared cultures with different previous flight histories and examined whether embedding cells in printed scaffolds helped them withstand the mission.

Delays extended the experiment beyond the three-week survival window established in preflight testing, creating a demanding test of both the cells and their culture environment.

Biolaminin® contribution

Biolaminin 521 was incorporated into a gelatin-based bioink crosslinked with microbial transglutaminase. The researchers used this mixture to print three-layer scaffolds containing the cells, providing a 3D matrix throughout the mission.

After return, cells were detected in all analyzed scaffold samples from both flight and ground-control groups. Survival in the floating neurosphere cultures was much more limited, with several groups yielding no recoverable cells.

The flight scaffolds also showed significantly higher cell-associated fluorescence than their corresponding ground controls. Staining for Ki67 identified proliferating cells, with a significantly greater proportion of Ki67-positive cells in the flight samples. These observations support the scaffold formulation as a culture environment in which cells could survive and remain proliferative despite prolonged mission-related stress.

Biolaminin 521 contributed the laminin component of this printed matrix. Although the study did not separate its effect from the other scaffold ingredients, it demonstrates its use in a bioink taken beyond standard laboratory conditions.

In separate analyses of surviving floating cultures, cells retained the ability to differentiate into neurons and glial cells after approximately one month of recovery. Electrophysiological measurements found no significant differences in the assessed membrane properties between flight-derived cells and their comparison groups.

Future outlook

The results provide a basis for refining printed culture systems for future space missions. Experiments comparing scaffold formulations under more closely controlled conditions could clarify which matrix components contribute to cell survival. Following cells throughout the mission would also help distinguish early growth from later stress responses and recovery.

Cited study: Fredriksson, R., Han, Y., Du, X. et al. Boundary cap neural crest stem cells exhibit remarkable resilience to environmental stressors associated with International Space Station mission. npj Microgravity 12, 69 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-026-00646-5

Product used in this study:

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  Biolaminin 521 LN (LN521)

  Full-length human recombinant laminin-521

  Biolaminin 521 LN is a full-length laminin-521 substrate—the natural laminin for pluripotent stem cells, reliably facilitating ESC and iPSC self-r […]
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