Astronaut Blood Could Reveal Space Flight Risks

A new study using blood samples taken from astronauts before and after various space shuttle missions from 1998 to 2001 revealed potential biomarkers which could be used to predict the health risks posed by space travel.

In a recently published paper, an international group of researchers detail how they analyzed exosomes, vesicles which transmit information between cells, isolated from the blood plasma of three astronauts.

“Our groups have proven that you can use the old samples and get very important information about the effects of spaceflight,” said David Goukassian, a professor of medicine and cardiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and lead project scientist on the study. The research was funded by the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH), which in turn is supported by the NASA Human Research Center.

Goukassian and his colleagues decided to start looking for different types of RNA in the exosomes they isolated. Like DNA, RNA is a molecule found within living cells. While DNA stores our genetic information, RNA plays a role in gene expression.

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For this study, the researchers focused on long non-coding RNA, which plays a role in regulating how our behaviors and environments affect our genes. They found approximately 27 long non-coding RNAs change in their expression after coming back from spaceflight.

“We wanted to know if they were linked to any diseases,” said Lahouaria Hadri, an assistant professor at the Icahn School of Medicine, of the changes in expression the team saw. She said the team was interested in seeing whether the changes were linked to any diseases.

And indeed, said Hadri, they were. The long non-coding RNAs that the team observed changes in during their research play roles in regulating genes involved in neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases as well as cancer.

The use of the blood samples, which were collected from astronauts 10 days before spaceflight and again 3 days after they returned to Earth’s surface, are what makes the research so rare and significant. According to Goukassian, access to the samples is extremely limited.

There’s still a lot unknown about how the body responds to spaceflight, especially because the pool of astronauts who have been to outer space is only around 600.

“We’re not talking about a lot of people that have been into outer space,” said Matthew Coleman, a senior scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and adjunct professor at the University of California, Davis. “It’s still a very small and select group of people.”

There are limitations the researchers have to consider when interpreting the changes that they’re seeing in the samples. More studies are needed before the researchers can definitively say the changes in long non-coding RNA they observed are biomarkers of spaceflight risk.

“There has always been a question about how much do samples immediately taken post-landing reflect the spaceflight and microgravity experience,” said Jennifer Fogarty, the chief scientific officer for TRISH.

Fogarty said the changes could be reflective of the post-landing experience, during which astronauts experience the psychological and physiological stresses of re-entering the atmosphere.

Another thing to consider are the biological implications of what the researchers are actually seeing in the samples. Change in gene expression, said Fogarty, is not always a bad omen. “Understanding the good versus the bad change is incredibly important.”

According to Goukassian, the researchers plan to publish a total of 6 studies which use the astronaut blood samples. He said he wants to help NASA and astronauts ensure that there is safe space exploration.

“The more of these types of studies we do, the more and more information we’ll be able to gather and understand future risk,” said Coleman. “We’ll be able to anticipate and mitigate that risk to make space travel safe.”