A team of scientists has found new markers that can be used for diagnostic purposes and possibly as a tool for predicting the risks associated with deep-space flight.
The team examined blood samples from space shuttle astronauts before and after their flight.
Their findings have been published in a journal.
We knew that nucleic acid within exosomes can be intact for 15-20 years, but we weren't sure how space travel would affect them and whether we would find intact exosomes containing nucleic acids in the two-decade-old blood from space shuttle astronauts.
This is an amazing surprise that we are getting so much information about the exosome, the different types of RNA encapsulated within the exosomes and the genes and biological processes they regulate.
Exosomes allow cells and tissues to communicate with each other. Long non-codingRNA, which controls and turns on cell mechanisms, can be found in exosomes.
Scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the University of Virginia School of Medicine, the University of California, San Diego, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and the Institute of Molecular Biology were included in the team.
Coleman said that the astronauts who went into space had signatures that they were astronauts.
The researchers found 27 different expressed lncRNAs that changed between pre-spaceflight and after flight.
There was a change in the amount of RNA in the astronauts blood.
When we compare before and after space travel, we see a change in the amount of lncRNA, either more or less, and those changes directly affect the genes that are turned off or on in important cellular functions.
Three samples of blood that came from space shuttle astronauts were extremely robust and were analyzed by a team of scientists.
Blood samples were taken 10 days before the astronauts went into space and then three days after they returned from low-Earth orbit.
Because the lncRNA can affect a large number of genes, understanding those genes and the pathways they are associated with would allow us to identify who needs to get specific medicine.
These kinds of studies are trying to fill the knowledge gaps to first understand the effects of working and traveling in low-Earth orbit and then of deep space on the human body.
Studies have focused on the effects of space on astronauts in low-Earth orbit, such as shuttle astronauts working on the International Space Station.
The space environment is going to be vastly different when we travel to the moon and Mars. Coleman said that astronauts will be in space for longer periods with longer times of confinement and problems with gravity.
30 years of expertise in genomic science, DNA repair and researching the effects of ionizing radiation through the Human Genome Project were some of the things that aided the team in their study.
Aimy Sebastian, abiomedical scientist and graduate student, were part of the team. The study was led by David Goukassian of the Cardiovascular Research Center at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
The team expects to publish at least three more papers about other types ofRNA identified within exosomes that play a role in health and diseases and could give more information about the risks associated with spaceflight.
More information: Malik Bisserier et al, Emerging Role of Exosomal Long Non-coding RNAs in Spaceflight-Associated Risks in Astronauts, Frontiers in Genetics (2022). DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.812188 Citation: Study finds new biomarkers that could assist in identifying deep-space flight risks (2022, March 2) retrieved 2 March 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-03-biomarkers-deep-space-flight.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
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