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Molecular and Cellular Characterization of Space Flight Effects on Microvascular Endothelial Cell Function – PreparatoryWork for the SFEF Project

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Abstract

Exposure to microgravity during space flight (SF) of variable length induces suffering of the endothelium (the cells lining all blood vessels), mostly responsible for health problems found in astronauts and animals returning from space. Of interest to pre-nosological medicine, the effects of microgravity on astronauts are strikingly similar to the consequences of sedentary life, senescence and degenerative diseases on Earth, although SF effects are accelerated and reversible. Thus, microgravity is a significant novel model for better understanding of common pathologies. A comprehensive cell and molecular biology study is needed in order to explain pathophysiological findings after SFs. This project will study the effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation on endothelial cells (ECs) cultured on the International Space Station through analysis of 1) cell transcriptome, 2) DNA methylome, 3) DNA damage and cell senescence, 4) variations in cell cycle and cell morphology. This project has been selected by the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency and is presently in preparation. The ground study presented here was performed to determine the biological and engineering requirements that will allow us to retrieve suitable samples after culturing, fixing and storing ECs in space. We expect to identify molecular pathways activated by space microgravity in microvascular ECs, which may shed light on pathogenic molecular mechanisms responsible for endothelial suffering shared by astronauts and individuals affected with aging, degenerative and sedentary life-associated pathologies on Earth.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to J.A.M. Maier and S. Versari for helpful discussion and hints, and to Ms. Alison Frank for text editing. This work was supported by the European Space Agency, the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (contract number 5681), Regione Toscana (POR FSE 2007-2013-FORTEC), Kayser Italia S.r.l., to DA.

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  1. Alessandra Merenda

    Present address: Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy

    Michele Balsamo, Ivana Barravecchia, Sara Mariotti & Debora Angeloni

  2. University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Alessandra Merenda & Chiara De Cesari

  3. Kayser Italia S.r.l., Livorno, Italy

    Marco Vukich

  4. IFC CNR Research Area, Via G. Moruzzi, 1-56124, Pisa, Italy

    Debora Angeloni

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  1. Michele Balsamo
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Correspondence to Debora Angeloni.

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Balsamo, M., Barravecchia, I., Mariotti, S. et al. Molecular and Cellular Characterization of Space Flight Effects on Microvascular Endothelial Cell Function – PreparatoryWork for the SFEF Project. Microgravity Sci. Technol. 26, 351–363 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-014-9399-4

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