In a recently published paper, an international research team analyzed in detail the exosomes isolated from the plasma of three astronauts, that is, vesicles that transmit information between cells.
"Our team has proved that we can get very important information about the impact of space flight from old blood samples," said David Goukassian, a professor of medicine and cardiology in icahn school of medicine at mount sinai and the chief project scientist of the study. This research was funded by the Institute of Space Health Transformation (TRISH) and supported by the Human Research Center of NASA.
Goukassian and his colleagues decided to start looking for different types of RNA in their isolated exosomes. Like DNA, RNA is a molecule found in living cells. Although DNA stores our genetic information, RNA plays a role in gene expression.
In this study, researchers focus on long-chain non-coding RNA, which plays a role in regulating our behavior and environment and how it affects our genes. They found that the expression of about 27 long non-coding RNA changed after returning from space flight.
"We want to know whether they are related to any diseases, and they are. The long-chain non-coding RNA observed by the research team during the research period plays a role in the regulation of neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases and cancer-related genes. " Lahouaria Hadri, an assistant professor at Icahn Medical College, said when talking about the expression changes seen by the team.
The time of collecting astronaut blood samples is 10 before space flight and 3 days after returning to the earth's surface, which makes this research so rare and important. According to Gukasin, access to samples is extremely limited.
There are only about 600 astronauts who have been to outer space, and the data cannot be called absolute basis. There are still many unknowns about the effects of space flight on the body.
Matthew Coleman, a senior scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and an adjunct professor at the University of California, Davis, said: "It is unrealistic to let more people go into outer space. For a long time to come, they will still be a very small and selected group, so some restrictions must be considered when seeing the changes in the samples."
According to the observed changes of long-chain non-coding RNA, it is not certain that it is a biomarker of space flight risk, and more research is needed.
Jennifer Fogarty, chief scientific officer of TRISH, said: "There has always been a question about the extent to which the samples collected immediately after landing reflect the experience of space flight and microgravity. These changes may reflect the experience after landing, during which astronauts experienced psychological and physiological pressure to re-enter the atmosphere. "
Fogarty said that another thing to consider is the biological significance that researchers actually see in the samples. Changes in gene expression are not always a bad sign.
According to Goukassian, researchers plan to publish a total of *** 6 studies using astronaut blood samples in an effort to help NASA and astronauts ensure the safety of space exploration.
Coleman said: "The more research we do, the more information we can collect and learn about future risks." "We will be able to predict and mitigate this risk to ensure the safety of space travel."
Original link:/sites/Allison Gasparini/2022/03/10/astronaut-blood-possibility-revelation-space flight-risk/? sh=6ab39a207d85