Exposure of volunteers to microgravity by dry immersion bed over 21 days results in gene expression changes and adaptation of T cells.

Gallardo-Dodd CJ, Oertlin C, Record J, Galvani RG, Sommerauer C, Kuznetsov NV, Doukoumopoulos E, Ali L, Oliveira MMS, Seitz C, Percipalle M, Nikić T, Sadova AA, Shulgina SM, Shmarov VA, Kutko OV, Vlasova DD, Orlova KD, Rykova MP, Andersson J, Percipalle P, Kutter C, Ponomarev SA, Westerberg LS

Sci Adv 9 (34) eadg1610 [2023-08-25; online 2023-08-25]

The next steps of deep space exploration are manned missions to Moon and Mars. For safe space missions for crew members, it is important to understand the impact of space flight on the immune system. We studied the effects of 21 days dry immersion (DI) exposure on the transcriptomes of T cells isolated from blood samples of eight healthy volunteers. Samples were collected 7 days before DI, at day 7, 14, and 21 during DI, and 7 days after DI. RNA sequencing of CD3+ T cells revealed transcriptional alterations across all time points, with most changes occurring 14 days after DI exposure. At day 21, T cells showed evidence of adaptation with a transcriptional profile resembling that of 7 days before DI. At 7 days after DI, T cells again changed their transcriptional profile. These data suggest that T cells adapt by rewiring their transcriptomes in response to simulated weightlessness and that remodeling cues persist when reexposed to normal gravity.

Claudia Kutter

SciLifeLab Fellow

PubMed 37624890

DOI 10.1126/sciadv.adg1610

Crossref 10.1126/sciadv.adg1610

pmc: PMC10456848


Publications 9.5.1