Discover how spaceflight affects the heart, blood circulation, and cardiovascular health in microgravity and deep space missions.
A novel countermeasure targeting three specific microRNAs (miRNAs) successfully protected human microvessel cells from simulated deep space radiation. The treatment significantly reduced DNA damage, inflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction, offering a promising pharmacological strategy to mitigate cardiovascular risks for astronauts on long-duration missions.
A study on mice exposed to simulated galactic cosmic rays (GCR) reveals long-term changes in heart and plasma proteins 8 months post-exposure. A key finding is the activation of pathways leading to Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) in heart tissue, a process linked to inflammation, tissue damage, and thrombosis, highlighting a significant cardiovascular risk for long-duration space missions.
This comprehensive review synthesizes evidence on the multi-organ, systemic effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection, detailing how the virus disrupts whole-body metabolism, dysregulates the immune and endocrine systems, and leads to widespread organ damage. These findings are crucial for understanding both acute COVID-19 and its long-term sequelae (PASC), with implications for managing astronaut health during space missions.
A 15-day spaceflight study in mice reveals significant changes in cardiac gene expression, highlighting increased oxidative stress and cell cycle arrest. The findings suggest a molecular basis for spaceflight-induced cardiac deconditioning and identify potential targets for countermeasures to protect astronaut cardiovascular health.
A multi-species study validates a specific microRNA signature as a biomarker for spaceflight stress, distinguishing between microgravity and radiation effects. Inhibition of key miRNAs rescued radiation-induced vascular damage in a human tissue model, offering a new therapeutic strategy for long-duration missions.
Fruit flies born and raised on the ISS showed significant cardiac dysfunction, including reduced contractility and output. This study reveals that microgravity triggers extensive cardiac remodeling, downregulates structural genes, and dramatically upregulates genes for protein degradation, indicating a state of 'proteostatic stress' that may be a fundamental response of heart muscle to spaceflight.
Analysis of GeneLab data from ground and spaceflight experiments suggests a novel protective mechanism where space radiation activates the FYN kinase, which in turn reduces harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cardiovascular cells. This finding, which identifies protons as the dominant radiation source in LEO, is critical for modeling long-term astronaut heart health and developing targeted countermeasures.