Next-generation sequencing analysis of circulating micro-RNA expression in response to parabolic flight as a spaceflight analogue

Abstract

Understanding physiologic reactions to weightlessness is an indispensable requirement for safe human space missions. This study aims to analyse changes in the expression of circulating miRNAs following exposure to gravitational changes. Eight healthy volunteers (age: 24.5 years, male: 4, female: 4) were included. Each subject underwent 31 short-term phases of weightlessness and hypergravity induced by parabolic flight as a spaceflight analogue. At baseline, 1 and 24 h after parabolic flight, venous blood was withdrawn. Analysis of circulating miRNAs in serum was conducted by means of next generation sequencing. In total, 213 miRNAs were robustly detected (TPM > 5) by small RNA sequencing in all 24 samples. Four miRNAs evidenced a significant change in expression after adjusting for multiple testing. Only miR-223-3p showed a consistent significant decrease 24 h after parabolic flight compared to baseline values and values at 1 h after parabolic flight. miR-941 and miR-24-3p showed a significant decrease 24 h after parabolic flight compared to 1 h after parabolic flight but not to baseline values. miR-486-5p showed a significant increase 24 h after parabolic flight compared to 1 h after parabolic flight but not to baseline values. A target network analysis identified genes of the p53 signaling pathway and the cell cycle highly enriched among the targets of the four microRNAs. Our findings suggest cellular adaption to gravitational changes at the post-transcriptional level. Based on our results, we suggest a change in cell cycle regulation as potential explanation for adaptational changes observed in space missions.

Identification and integrated analysis of lncRNAs and miRNAs in IPEC-J2 cells provide novel insight into the regulation of the innate immune response by PDCoV infection

“…Briefly, clean reads obtained from RNA sequencing were mapped to a swine reference genome (NCBI genome database: Sus scrofa 11.1), which was performed by HISAT software following the instructions of the software website ( http://www.ccb.jhu.edu/software/hisat/index.shtml ). The miRNA expression level was computed and normalized to transcripts per million (TPM) [ 48 ].…”

“…shtml). The miRNA expression level was computed and normalized to transcripts per million (TPM) [48].…”

Circulating microRNAs as Reliable Tumor Biomarkers: Opportunities and Challenges Facing Clinical Application

“…-Gravitational change is also considered a variant factor that affects the expression of circulating miRNAs. In the study by Jirak et al, (2020), profiling 213 miRNAs by next-generation sequencing following exposure of healthy volunteers to gravitational changes revealed a significant alteration in the expression of four miRNAs; miR-24-3p, miR-941, miR-486-5p, and miR-223-3p, suggesting that the secretion pattern of some miRNAs are affected by changes in gravity.…”

Direct RNA sequencing of astronaut blood reveals spaceflight-associated m6A increases and hematopoietic transcriptional responses

“…Significant changes also occur within the circulatory and hematological system during spaceflight, on both a molecular and physiological level, which likely contributes to these effects 5 . Ground studies collecting transcriptomic profiles of human subjects have attempted to characterize the impact of individual components of spaceflight, such as radiation or microgravity exposure 6 , 7 , the latter being simulated with a parabolic flight 8 . With regard to direct spaceflight exposure, the available transcriptomic data is even more limited, focused on a few specific assays, either sequencing the human IgM repertoire following long-term spaceflight 9 , measuring the proteome of exhaled breath condensate after long-term spaceflight 10 , or examining gene expression profiles from astronaut hair follicle samples after long stays on the International Space Station 11 .…”