HonorHealth Research Institute’s Post

It has been an eventful fortnight! Last week I passed my PhD viva. This week I started a new research placement investigating genetic variant effect predictors for rare disease with Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, and a few papers I worked on during my PhD are out as part of a huge Nature Portfolio #spacebiology community package. Some quick paper summaries: Transcriptomics analysis reveals molecular alterations underpinning spaceflight dermatology 🤚 https://lnkd.in/dZzrjgJC: We analysed data from mice and humans flown to space across different missions to highlight the impact of mission factors, such as collagen gene regulation from hypergravity during landing, and to identify molecular patterns including impaired skin barrier function (Filaggrin is a particular gene to follow-up on!) - which may underlie the commonality of skin problems reported by astronauts and could hopefully serve as a path towards prevention. Astronaut omics and the impact of space on the human body at scale 👨🚀 https://lnkd.in/d6vdTAgW: We discuss the history and future of international human spaceflight from an omics perspective, including routinely collecting multi-omics from astronauts, spaceflight personalised medicine, and challenges of astronaut personal data policy. Spaceflight induces changes in gene expression profiles linked to insulin and oestrogen 💉 https://lnkd.in/dqhe2-2r: In this multi-tissue analysis we found spaceflight induced changes in insulin and oestrogen signalling in rodents and humans, with important implications for reproductive and metabolic health in space. Lots of other interesting papers in the #spaceomics package at the collection page: https://lnkd.in/dMgrxWXJ or snazzy landing page: https://lnkd.in/d9BMAbt7 LinkedIn won't let me tag everyone but thanks for all of the collaborators and datasets that were made accessible NASA GeneLab, SpaceX #Inspiration4, Jonas Elsborg, Pinar Avci, Afshin Beheshti, Matt MacKay, Lindsay Rutter, Christopher Mason, Masafumi Muratani, Stefania Giacomello, Begum Mathyk. It's an incredible community. I'd like to give a special thanks to Nathaniel Szewczyk for his amazing supervision throughout my PhD. #HorizonCDT #EPSRC #spaceomics ISSOP- International Standards for Space Omics Processing

🚀 Exploring Spaceflight Health with Groundbreaking RNA Research! 🧬 The latest research from the JAXA Cell-Free Epigenome Study is shedding new light on how the space environment impacts human health. By analyzing cell-free mitochondrial DNA and RNA from astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), researchers have discovered mitochondrial dysregulation as a key response to microgravity. This breakthrough reveals potential biomarkers for spaceflight-induced stress, aging, and inflammation, leading to better health monitoring for long-term space exploration. Key findings include: Mitochondrial Stress: Elevated levels of mitochondrial RNA in plasma during spaceflight. Multi-Organ Impact: Plasma RNA shows responses from various tissues, including the brain, muscles, and even the retina. Innovative Liquid Biopsies: Non-invasive liquid biopsies allow for real-time health monitoring in space, without the need for complex tissue biopsies. https://lnkd.in/grU3J5kW This cutting-edge research is a game-changer for space healthcare, offering insights into how we can protect astronauts on future missions to Mars and beyond! #SpaceMedicine #MitochondrialResearch #CommercialSpaceflight #AerospaceMedicine #JAXA #NASA #Biomarkers #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceExploration

Cosmic kidney disease: an integrated pan-omic, physiological and morphological study into spaceflight-induced renal dysfunction Missions into Deep Space are planned this decade. Yet the health consequences of exposure to microgravity and galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) over years-long missions on indispensable visceral organs such as the kidney are largely unexplored. We performed biomolecular (epigenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, epiproteomic, metabolomic, metagenomic), clinical chemistry (electrolytes, endocrinology, biochemistry) and morphometry (histology, 3D imaging, miRNA-ISH, tissue weights) analyses using samples and datasets available from 11 spaceflight-exposed mouse and 5 human, 1 simulated microgravity rat and 4 simulated GCR-exposed mouse missions. We found that spaceflight induces: 1) renal transporter dephosphorylation which may indicate astronauts' increased risk of nephrolithiasis is in part a primary renal phenomenon rather than solely a secondary consequence of bone loss; 2) remodelling of the nephron that results in expansion of distal convoluted tubule size but loss of overall tubule density; 3) renal damage and dysfunction when exposed to a Mars roundtrip dose-equivalent of simulated GCR. Source: Nat Commun https://lnkd.in/gmqBSYik

❤️ Cardiovascular Research in Space – The 3D heart-on-a-chip model, featured in this newly published article, accurately replicated the adverse effects of heart muscle function changes and arrhythmias experienced by astronauts upon returning to Earth. The model was able to send real-time data from the ISS to the lab on Earth and accurately predicted key signatures of metabolic disorders, heart failure, oxidative stress, and inflammation related to spaceflight. Genes related to contractility and calcium signaling showed significant down-regulation in spaceflight conditions. As someone who has worked on the prevention of oxidative stress and in cardiovascular cell signaling, I’m a strong advocate for prevention over treatment when possible. From my research and experience, preventing these issues through key lifestyle interventions—such as a healthy diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, regular physical activity, stress management, and even targeted pharmaceuticals—are existing challenges for astronauts as they live aboard the ISS. Interestingly, while high blood pressure on Earth often leads to these complications as well, astronauts in microgravity experience the opposite with low blood pressure. This raises even more questions about how we can prevent these cardiovascular changes during spaceflight. I would love to be able to be part of innovative solutions in this field, and protect astronauts’ heart and overall health. What do you think? Is space travel still worth the risk? Or would you like to see preventative health measures put in place prior to and during spaceflight? What would that look like to you? 🚀 #HeartHealth #CardiovascularResearch #OxidativeStress #3DHeartChip #SpaceHealth #PreventionIsKey #MetabolicDisorders #HeartFailurePrevention #GeneExpression #Microgravity

Long awaited publication milestone from a project I have been following closely for a few years. Headed up by the (inter)stellar Christopher Mason, the Space Omics and Medical Atlas– SOMA, examines the molecular impact of spaceflight on the health and function of the human body. SpaceX’s 2021 Inspiration4 crew completed a high-elevation orbital mission, providing biospecimens before, during, and after their three-day journey.  While not sufficient to guide astronaut surgeons yet, or define all a cell's changes in microgravity, this work is a first molecular map of the human body’s response to spaceflight. It is thrilling to consider how this decidedly small but comprehensive clinical and multi-omic resource repository will grow into an aerospace biobank for future generations of space-bound humans. Start with the detailed guide to SOMA, describing the ~3,000 samples, as well as the methods for spatial transcriptomics, long-read RNA, microbiome data, exosome profiles, and in-depth immune diversity maps: https://lnkd.in/gtjSSGcW TL;DR:  “The multi-omic footprint of spaceflight is much wider than previously observed.” 🚀 Findings are reproduced from the earlier NASA Twins Study: Similar changes were seen as those during longer-duration missions, including elevated cytokines, telomere elongation, and gene expression changes for immune activation, DNA damage response, and oxidative stress. 🚀 Three new methods reveal distinct RNA fingerprints of spaceflight: SOMA has a strong emphasis on RNA profiling thanks to new technology like spatially-resolved transcriptomics for skin biopsies, circulating free RNA profiling as a way to snapshot temporal alterations, and looking at RNA mods by direct sequencing. Notably, single cell sequencing methods (RNA and ATAC track gene expression and epigenetic changes within the same cells. 🚀 Immune response gene regulatory changes during recovery: Differential gene expression in immune cells returned to baseline levels after flight, but a few interesting genes in T cells & monocytes remained high. Chromatin accessibility and TF binding studies reveal potential mechanisms that may regulate a set of common, core pathways in response to spaceflight. 🚀 Intra-individual spaceflight responses: Researchers looked at changes in proteomic, transcriptomic, & microbiome data from hundreds of each astronaut’s samples. These were compared with that from prior missions to understand changes in cellular mechanisms most affected during spaceflight & recovery. ### Overall, this tour de force of data provides a nice blueprint of how to bring together different technologies to prepare for the biomedical challenges of a massive human undertaking like multi-year space habitation! https://lnkd.in/gxtQ7-9E #RNA #DNA #Omics #epigenetics #genomics #proteomics #spaceflight #OmicsinSpaaace 🛰

This is a first for Organoids- Brain Organoids from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients heading over to space with NASA Expedition 71 : to gain insights into effects of extended space flights on brain function and also to dig deep into mechanisms of Aging.

✨ Exciting News: New Publication as Senior Author✨ I am thrilled to announce the publication of our latest research, where we explore the intriguing parallels between spaceflight-induced molecular changes and the aging process on Earth. This study, published in *Scientific Reports*, reveals how frailty-related biomarkers are altered during spaceflight, suggesting that astronauts may experience a frailty-like condition similar to that seen in aging populations. 🔍 Key Findings: - Spaceflight can induce molecular changes in astronauts that are akin to those observed in aging, including inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and gene expression alterations linked to muscle loss and frailty. - We identified several frailty-related biomarkers that are differentially expressed in both rodent and human samples during and after space missions. - Our results highlight the potential need for a frailty index to monitor and mitigate health risks for astronauts on long-duration space missions. This research represents a significant step forward in understanding how the unique environment of spaceflight impacts human health, with implications for both space exploration and aging research on Earth. 🙏 A special thank you to the stellar team with Afshin Beheshti and to Andrea Camera for your unwavering support and dedication to championing this important topic. Your insights and leadership have been invaluable to this work. 📖 https://lnkd.in/eiiaqTDy #SpaceResearch #Aging #Frailty #Biomarkers #ScientificReports #HealthInSpace NASA GeneLab NASA Ames Research Center University of Colorado Boulder Baylor College of Medicine #internationalspacestation #inspiration4 SpaceX

Whether on Earth or in space, prioritizing health is important. Read how technology intended for astronaut heart health monitoring on spaceflight missions is making strides to improve the quality of life for heart failure patients on our home planet. https://lnkd.in/evzTv2sA #NASA #Science #Technology #astronauthealth #medicaltechnology #ForTheBenefitOfAll

Spaceflight induces significant changes in astronauts' 🧑🚀 immune responses. To better understand this phenomenon, Christopher Mason David Furman JangKeun Kim and others have generated comprehensive single-cell, multi-ome, cell-free RNA (cfRNA), biochemical, and hematology data from the SpaceX Inspiration4 (I4) mission crew. Their analysis revealed alterations in 18 cytokines/chemokines related to inflammation, aging, and muscle homeostasis post-spaceflight. In the I4 single-cell multi-omics data, they also identified a distinct "spaceflight signature" of gene expression characterized by enrichment in oxidative phosphorylation, UV response, immune function, and TCF21 pathways. This signature was validated in independent datasets, including the NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Twins Study, I4 skin spatial transcriptomics, and 817 NASA GeneLab mouse 🐭 transcriptomes. Notably, they observed up-regulation of FOXP3 in T cells, long-term suppression of MHC class I genes, and shifts in infection-related immune pathways associated with microbiome 🧫 changes. This study has uncovered conserved and unique immune disruptions due to spaceflight and outlines potential countermeasures to maintain astronaut health on long-duration missions. See https://lnkd.in/ei6SCzEg for the full text article under SOMA

Did you know : Astropharmacy is the emerging field of medicine dedicated to the unique healthcare needs of space travelers. It extends beyond simply dispensing medication, encompassing innovative approaches like personalized medicine and using advanced technologies. This evolving field aims to address the unique challenges of spaceflight, paving the way for a healthier future for space exploration. https://lnkd.in/eujD-FQm