Roy Upal, Hadad Roey, Rodriguez Angel A, Saju Alen, Roy Deepa, Gil Mario, Keane Robert W, Scott Ryan T, Mao Xiao W, de Rivero Vaccari Juan Pablo
Department of Health and Biomedical Science, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Brownsville, TX 78539, USA.
Department of Cellular Physiology and Molecular Biophysics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
Cells. 2025 Mar 12;14(6):417. doi: 10.3390/cells14060417.
Space flight exposes astronauts to stressors that alter the immune response, rendering them vulnerable to infections and diseases. In this study, we aimed to determine the levels of inflammasome activation in the brains of mice that were housed in the International Space Station (ISS) for 37 days. C57BL/6 mice were launched to the ISS as part of NASA's Rodent Research 1 Mission on SpaceX-4 CRS-4 Dragon cargo spacecraft from 21 September 2014 to 25 October 2014. Dissected mouse brains from that mission were analyzed by immunoblotting of inflammasome signaling proteins and Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassay (ECLIA) for inflammatory cytokine levels. Our data indicate decreased inflammasome activation in the brains of mice that were housed in the ISS for 37 days when compared to the brains of mice that were maintained on the ground, and in mice corresponding to the baseline group that were sacrificed at the time of launching of SpaceX-4. Moreover, we did not detect any significant changes in the expression levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-2, IFN-γ, IL-5, IL-6, IL-12p70 and IL-10 between the ground control and the flight groups. Together, these studies suggest that spaceflight results in a decrease in the levels of innate immune signaling molecules that govern inflammasome signaling in the brain of mice.
太空飞行使宇航员暴露于改变免疫反应的应激源中，使他们易受感染和疾病侵袭。在本研究中，我们旨在确定在国际空间站（ISS）中饲养37天的小鼠大脑中炎性小体的激活水平。作为美国国家航空航天局（NASA）啮齿动物研究1任务的一部分，C57BL/6小鼠于2014年9月21日至2014年10月25日搭乘SpaceX-4 CRS-4“龙”号货运飞船被送往国际空间站。对该任务中解剖的小鼠大脑进行炎性小体信号蛋白的免疫印迹分析以及炎性细胞因子水平的电化学发光免疫分析（ECLIA）。我们的数据表明，与在地面饲养的小鼠大脑以及在SpaceX-4发射时处死的对应基线组小鼠大脑相比，在国际空间站中饲养37天的小鼠大脑中炎性小体的激活减少。此外，我们未检测到地面对照组和飞行组之间促炎细胞因子TNF-α、IL-2、IFN-γ、IL-5、IL-6、IL-12p70和IL-10的表达水平有任何显著变化。总之，这些研究表明太空飞行导致小鼠大脑中控制炎性小体信号传导的固有免疫信号分子水平降低。
