Paul Amber M, Cheng-Campbell Margareth, Blaber Elizabeth A, Anand Sulekha, Bhattacharya Sharmila, Zwart Sara R, Crucian Brian E, Smith Scott M, Meller Robert, Grabham Peter, Beheshti Afshin
Universities Space Research Association, Columbia, MD 21046, USA.
Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94043, USA.
iScience. 2020 Nov 25;23(12):101747. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101747. eCollection 2020 Dec 18.
Spaceflight missions can cause immune system dysfunction in astronauts with little understanding of immune outcomes in deep space. This study assessed immune responses in mice following ground-based, simulated deep spaceflight conditions, compared with data from astronauts on International Space Station missions. For ground studies, we simulated microgravity using the hindlimb unloaded mouse model alone or in combination with acute simulated galactic cosmic rays or solar particle events irradiation. Immune profiling results revealed unique immune diversity following each experimental condition, suggesting each stressor results in distinct circulating immune responses, with clear consequences for deep spaceflight. Circulating plasma microRNA sequence analysis revealed involvement in immune system dysregulation. Furthermore, a large astronaut cohort showed elevated inflammation during low-Earth orbit missions, thereby supporting our simulated ground experiments in mice. Herein, circulating immune biomarkers are defined by distinct deep space irradiation types coupled to simulated microgravity and could be targets for future space health initiatives.
太空飞行任务可能会导致宇航员免疫系统功能失调，而人们对深空环境下的免疫结果了解甚少。本研究评估了在地面模拟深空飞行条件下小鼠的免疫反应，并与国际空间站任务中宇航员的数据进行了比较。在地面研究中，我们单独使用后肢卸载小鼠模型或结合急性模拟银河宇宙射线或太阳粒子事件照射来模拟微重力。免疫分析结果显示，每种实验条件下都有独特的免疫多样性，这表明每种应激源都会导致不同的循环免疫反应，对深空飞行有明显影响。循环血浆微小RNA序列分析显示其参与了免疫系统失调。此外，一大群宇航员在近地轨道任务期间炎症水平升高，从而支持了我们在小鼠身上进行的模拟地面实验。在此，循环免疫生物标志物由与模拟微重力相关的不同深空辐射类型所定义，可能成为未来太空健康计划的目标。
