Systematic biomedical research of the NASA Twins Study facilitates the hazard risk assessment of long-term spaceflight missions

Dai, Zhongquan; Lei, Xiaohua; Yang, Chao; Zhao, Lei; Liang, Lu; Li, Yinghui

doi:10.1007/s13238-019-0628-x

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The environment in space, unlike that on Earth, is characterized by microgravity and cosmic radiation, which have strong impacts on most biological systems [ 1 , 2 ]. Can humans or other animals reproduce in such an environment, and, specifically, how does the environment in space influence normal embryonic development?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of mouse preimplantation embryos in space

Lei

Cao

et al. 2020

National Science Review

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The development of life beyond planet Earth is a long-standing quest of the human race, but whether normal mammalian embryonic development can occur in space is still unclear. Here, we show unequivocally that preimplantation mouse embryos can develop in space, but the rate of blastocyst formation and blastocyst quality are compromised. Additionally, the cells in the embryo contain severe DNA damage, while the genome of the blastocysts developed in space is globally hypomethylated with a unique set of differentially methylated regions. The developmental defects, DNA damage and epigenetic abnormalities can be largely mimicked by the treatment with ground-based low-dose radiation. However, the exposure to simulated microgravity alone does not cause major disruptions of embryonic development, indicating that radiation is the main cause for the developmental defects. This work advances the understanding of embryonic development in space and reveals long-term extreme low-dose radiation as a hazardous factor for mammalian reproduction.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of mouse preimplantation embryos in space

Lei

Cao

et al. 2020

National Science Review

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“…The location of skin melanoma or any change of texture should be therefore registered carefully. The question of radiodegeneration has been recently raised by space experiments on twins [ 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 ]. During a one-year ISS mission, one male twin was on board while his monozygotic twin served as a genetically matched ground control.…”

Section: The Potential Radiation-induced Risks For the Astronauts:mentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiation on Earth or in Space: What Does It Change?

Restier-Verlet

El-Nachef

Ferlazzo

et al. 2021

IJMS

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After having been an instrument of the Cold War, space exploration has become a major technological, scientific and societal challenge for a number of countries. With new projects to return to the Moon and go to Mars, radiobiologists have been called upon to better assess the risks linked to exposure to radiation emitted from space (IRS), one of the major hazards for astronauts. To this aim, a major task is to identify the specificities of the different sources of IRS that concern astronauts. By considering the probabilities of the impact of IRS against spacecraft shielding, three conclusions can be drawn: (1) The impacts of heavy ions are rare and their contribution to radiation dose may be low during low Earth orbit; (2) secondary particles, including neutrons emitted at low energy from the spacecraft shielding, may be common in deep space and may preferentially target surface tissues such as the eyes and skin; (3) a “bath of radiation” composed of residual rays and fast neutrons inside the spacecraft may present a concern for deep tissues such as bones and the cardiovascular system. Hence, skin melanoma, cataracts, loss of bone mass, and aging of the cardiovascular system are possible, dependent on the dose, dose-rate, and individual factors. This suggests that both radiosusceptibility and radiodegeneration may be concerns related to space exploration. In addition, in the particular case of extreme solar events, radiosensitivity reactions—such as those observed in acute radiation syndrome—may occur and affect blood composition, gastrointestinal and neurologic systems. This review summarizes the specificities of space radiobiology and opens the debate as regards refinements of current radiation protection concepts that will be useful for the better estimation of risks.

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“…National space agencies urgently need to promote the basic life-sciences studies to attempt to understand these things as soon as possible, which makes increased efforts to evaluate and mitigate this damage for the crew (Foldager et al, 1996;Shi et al, 2021). Relative to the 1 g gravity on the Earth, the substantially reduced gravity in the space environment elicits major deconditioning to the physiology of the human body (Dai et al, 2019;Garrett-Bakelman et al, 2019). With all of these physiological effects in microgravity, cardiac health is mechanosensitive and susceptible to gravitational force changes (Tank and Jordan, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ckip-1 3′-UTR Attenuates Simulated Microgravity-Induced Cardiac Atrophy

Zhao

Zhong

et al. 2022

Front. Cell Dev. Biol.

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Microgravity prominently affected cardiovascular health, which was the gravity-dependent physical factor. Deep space exploration had been increasing in frequency, but heart function was susceptible to conspicuous damage and cardiac mass declined in weightlessness. Understanding of the etiology of cardiac atrophy exposed to microgravity currently remains limited. The 3′-untranslated region (UTR) of casein kinase-2 interacting protein-1 (Ckip-1) was a pivotal mediator in pressure overload-induced cardiac remodeling. However, the role of Ckip-1 3′-UTR in the heart during microgravity was unknown. We analyzed Ckip-1 mRNA 3′-UTR and coding sequence (CDS) expression levels in ground-based analogs such as mice hindlimb unloading (HU) and rhesus monkey head-down bed rest model. Ckip-1 3′-UTR had transcribed levels in the opposite change trend with cognate CDS expression in the hearts. We then subjected wild-type (WT) mice and cardiac-specific Ckip-1 3′-UTR-overexpressing mice to hindlimb unloading for 28 days. Our results uncovered that Ckip-1 3′-UTR remarkably attenuated cardiac dysfunction and mass loss in simulated microgravity environments. Mechanistically, Ckip-1 3′-UTR inhibited lipid accumulation and elevated fatty acid oxidation-related gene expression in the hearts through targeting calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase 2 (CaMKK2) and activation of the AMPK-PPARα-CPT1b signaling pathway. These findings demonstrated Ckip-1 3′-UTR was an important regulator in atrophic heart growth after simulated microgravity.

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Systematic biomedical research of the NASA Twins Study facilitates the hazard risk assessment of long-term spaceflight missions

Cited by 7 publications

References 11 publications

Development of mouse preimplantation embryos in space

Development of mouse preimplantation embryos in space

Radiation on Earth or in Space: What Does It Change?

Ckip-1 3′-UTR Attenuates Simulated Microgravity-Induced Cardiac Atrophy

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