Human gut microbiome and metabolite dynamics under simulated microgravity

Abstract

The Artificial Gravity Bed Rest – European Space Agency (AGBRESA) study was the first joint bed rest study by ESA, DLR, and NASA that examined the effect of simulated weightlessness on the human body and assessed the potential benefits of artificial gravity as a countermeasure in an analog of long-duration spaceflight. In this study, we investigated the impact of simulated microgravity on the gut microbiome of 12 participants during a 60-day head-down tilt bed rest at the :envihab facilities. Over 60 days of simulated microgravity resulted in a mild change in the gut microbiome, with distinct microbial patterns and pathway expression in the feces of the countermeasure group compared to the microgravity simulation-only group. Additionally, we found that the countermeasure protocols selectively increased the abundance of beneficial short-chain fatty acids in the gut, such as acetate, butyrate, and propionate. Some physiological signatures also included the modulation of taxa reported to be either beneficial or opportunistic, indicating a mild adaptation in the microbiome network balance. Our results suggest that monitoring the gut microbial catalog along with pathway clustering and metabolite profiling is an informative synergistic strategy to determine health disturbances and the outcome of countermeasure protocols for future space missions.

The astounding exhaustiveness and speed of the Astral mass analyzer for highly complex samples is a quantum leap in the functional analysis of microbiomes

“…Each of the three 90-min DDA acquisition measurements generated an average of 94,751 (± 1.3%) MS/MS spectra, resulting after querying the DB48 in an average of 16,552 (± 3.2%) PSMs, 12,749 (± 2.3%) peptide sequences, and 3628 (± 0.9%) protein groups (Table S 4 ). Those results are consistent with those reported for other human fecal samples using the same instrument but with a longer gradient [ 20 ]. In DDA mode, the performance of the Astral and CHIMERYS tool interpretation resulted in almost 10 times more PSMs, a threefold increase in the number of peptides and protein groups identified, with only two-thirds of the dedicated time to mass spectrometry.…”

Proteogenomic reconstruction of organ-specific metabolic networks in an environmental sentinel species, the amphipodGammarus fossarum

“…The resulting peptide mixtures were analyzed in data-dependent acquisition mode with an Orbitrap Exploris high-resolution mass spectrometer (MS) (ThermoFisher) coupled to an UltiMate 3000 LC system (Dionex-LC Packings), operated as described previously (Ramos-Nascimento et al, 2023).…”

Potential Biomarkers of Resilience to Microgravity Hazards in Astronauts

“…Microgravity exposure during spaceflight can have profound effects on the gastrointestinal (GI) system, leading to alterations in gut microbiota composition [ 44 , 45 ] and increased intestinal permeability [ 46 ]. One of the major concerns is the development of gut microbiota dysbiosis, which refers to an imbalance in the composition and function of the gut microbial community [ 47 ].…”