Fwd: How spaceflight ages the immune system prematurely

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: February 3, 2015 at 9:51:25 PM CST
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: How spaceflight ages the immune system prematurely

 

2-Feb-2015

How spaceflight ages the immune system prematurely

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

 

As the world waits to see if Mars One can establish a human colony on Mars, scientists are working to determine the long-term consequences of living in low or no-gravity conditions, such as those that might exist on the trip to another planet. New research published online in The FASEB Journal shows that spaceflight may be associated with a process of accelerated aging of the immune system.

FASEB Journal

 

 

 

2-Feb-2015 

How spaceflight ages the immune system prematurely

New research in The FASEB Journal suggests that a ground-based model simulating some of the effects of spaceflight on mice induces changes in B lymphocyte production in bone marrow

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

As the world waits to see if Mars One can establish a human colony on Mars, scientists are working to determine the long-term consequences of living in low or no-gravity conditions, such as those that might exist on the trip to another planet. New research published online in The FASEB Journal, shows that spaceflight may be associated with a process of accelerated aging of the immune system. Specifically, researchers found that mice in low gravity conditions experience changes in B lymphocyte production in their bone marrow similar to those observed in elderly mice living in Earth conditions.

"This study shows that a model of spaceflight conditions could not only be used to test the efficacy of molecules to improve immune responses following a spaceflight in astronauts, but also in the elderly and bed-ridden populations on Earth," said Jean-Pol Frippiat, a researcher involved in the work from the Stress, Immunity and Pathogens Laboratory at Lorraine University in Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France. "This model could also help understanding the aging of the immune system called immunoscenescence."

Frippiat and colleagues used a ground-based model called hindlimb unloading (or HU), that simulates some of the effects of spaceflight on mice. They analyzed both bone parameters and the frequency of cells that will give birth to B lymphocytes in the bone marrow of young mice, old mice and mice subjected during three weeks to hindlimb unloading. Comparison of these data revealed that bone changes and changes in the production of B lymphocytes in the bone marrow of HU mice were very similar to those observed in old mice. This study shows that HU could be interesting to improve understanding of the relationship between bone remodeling and B cell production in the bones, both in the context of spaceflight and normal aging on Earth. This model could therefore be used to test and/or develop molecules and compounds to improve immune responses following spaceflight in astronauts or in elderly and bed-ridden populations.

"Getting to Mars and beyond promises to be a huge task, requiring contributions from almost every scientific discipline," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "For biologists and medical researchers, knowing how altered gravity affect our immune system from challenges aloft can be already be studied on Earth. Fortunately for biologists, it's not rocket science."

###

Receive monthly highlights from The FASEB Journal by e-mail. Sign up at http://www.faseb.org/fjupdate.aspx. The FASEB Journal is published by the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). It is the world's most cited biology journal according to the Institute for Scientific Information and has been recognized by the Special Libraries Association as one of the top 100 most influential biomedical journals of the past century.

FASEB is composed of 27 societies with more than 120,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. Our mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to our member societies and collaborative advocacy.

Details: Chloé Lescale, Véronique Schenten, Dounia Djeghloul, Meriem Bennabi, Fanny Gaignier, Katleen Vandamme, Catherine Strazielle, Isabelle Kuzniak, Hervé Petite, Christine Dosquet, Jean-Pol Frippiat, and Michele Goodhardt. Hind limb unloading, a model of spaceflight conditions, leads to decreased B lymphopoiesis similar to aging. FASEB J. February 2015 29:455-463; doi:10.1096/fj.14-259770 ; http://www.fasebj.org/content/29/2/455.abstract

 

 

Copyright © 2015 by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

 

---