Proteomic Analysis of Mouse Brain Subjected to Spaceflight

Abstract

There is evidence that spaceflight poses acute and late risks on the central nervous system. To explore possible mechanisms, the proteomic changes following spaceflight in mouse brain were characterized. Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) was launched at the Kennedy Space Center on a 13-day mission. Within 3–5 hours after landing, brain tissue was collected to evaluate protein expression profiles using quantitative proteomic analysis. Our results showed that there were 26 proteins that were significantly altered after spaceflight in the grey and/or white matter. While there was no overlap between the white and grey matter in terms of individual proteins, there was overlap in terms of function, synaptic plasticity, vesical activity, protein/organelle transport, and metabolism. Our data demonstrate that exposure to the spaceflight environment induces significant changes in protein expression related to neuronal structure and metabolic function. This might lead to a significant impact on brain structural and functional integrity that could affect the outcome of space missions.

Spaceflight induces oxidative damage to blood‐brain barrier integrity in a mouse model

“…The cellular components and structure of the cortex and hippocampus are notably different in terms of number and types of neurons, glia cell density, vascular density and topology, as well as metabolic activity. A previous study documented 13 days of exposure to a space environment caused modification of many proteins in the brain gray and white matter with minimum overlap of altered proteins between the two regions 77 . These structural and cellular component differences may contribute to variations in tissue damage responses.…”

“…A previous study documented 13 days of exposure to a space environment caused modification of many proteins in the brain gray and white matter with minimum overlap of altered proteins between the two regions. 77 These structural and cellular component differences may contribute to variations in tissue damage responses. In the current study, while IHC was performed in the cortex and hippocampus, the cortical region could not be separated from the hippocampus before proteomic analysis due to logistic limitations of postflight tissue processing for these RR-9 studies.…”

Rac1/Wave2/Arp3 Pathway Mediates Rat Blood-Brain Barrier Dysfunction under Simulated Microgravity Based on Proteomics Strategy

“…Spaceflight induces oxidative damage in numerous tissues, for example, in the brain, liver, ocular tissue, bone, etc. [ 39 , 40 ]. Ground-based simulations of an MG study also showed that SMG could increase oxidative stress in the rat brain [ 41 , 42 ].…”

Investigation on P-Glycoprotein Function and Its Interacting Proteins under Simulated Microgravity

“…However, there are many hostile limiting factors in space environment such as consistent microgravity, strong radiation, and noise, which could cause various pathophysiological changes of astronauts [1][2][3]. Lots of available literatures indicate that exposure to microgravity leads to dysfunction of the nerve and cardiovascular system, bone loss, muscle atrophy, energy metabolism disorder of the liver, and destruction of the intestinal mucosa [4][5][6][7][8][9]. Injury of the nerve system would reduce the performance of astronauts in space, and even their health is at high risk [4,[10][11][12].…”

“…Lots of available literatures indicate that exposure to microgravity leads to dysfunction of the nerve and cardiovascular system, bone loss, muscle atrophy, energy metabolism disorder of the liver, and destruction of the intestinal mucosa [4][5][6][7][8][9]. Injury of the nerve system would reduce the performance of astronauts in space, and even their health is at high risk [4,[10][11][12]. Microgravity can also cause many diseases such as space motion sickness vomiting and many others [13,14].…”