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NK Cell Assessments: A 40-Years-Old History of Immune–Stress Interaction in Space with a Promising Future

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Stress Challenges and Immunity in Space

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Abstract

Natural killer cells (NK) are lymphocytes of the innate immune system that are critical in resistance against infection, especially viral infection, and tumors. The past research activities have revealed that spaceflight factors change NK function in humans. Alterations that have been observed in NK after long-duration spaceflights include changes in early cell activation, cell cytotoxicity, percentages in peripheral blood, and the ability to form conjugates with target cells. The magnitude and pattern of these changes can differ between missions and even between crew members within the same mission. However, an increase in the flight duration from 2 to 14 months does not lead to increased changes of the cytotoxic activity of NK.

†Boris Morukov was deceased in 2015.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Scientific Center of Russian Federation, Institute of Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia

    Marina Rykova, Eugenia Antropova, Boris Morukov & Sergey Ponomarev

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  1. Marina Rykova
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  2. Eugenia Antropova
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  3. Boris Morukov
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  4. Sergey Ponomarev
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Correspondence to Sergey Ponomarev .

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  1. Laboratory of Translational Research Stress and Immunity Department of Anaesthesiology, Hospital of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany

    Alexander Choukèr

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Rykova, M., Antropova, E., Morukov, B., Ponomarev, S. (2020). NK Cell Assessments: A 40-Years-Old History of Immune–Stress Interaction in Space with a Promising Future. In: Choukèr, A. (eds) Stress Challenges and Immunity in Space. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16996-1_13

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