Preprint Systemic Genome Correlation Loss as a Central Characteristic of Spaceflight, 2024, Sakharkar et al.

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Systemic Genome Correlation Loss as a Central Characteristic of Spaceflight
Anurag Sakharkar; Kiven Erique Lukong; Lauren M Sanders; Sylvain V Costes; Jian Yang; Changiz Taghibiglou

Space exploration has captured the imagination of humanity for generations. From the first steps on the moon to the recent Mars rover and Artemis lunar exploration missions, space travel has always been an ambitious goal for humanity. However, as we venture further into space and prepare for long-term missions to other planets, the physiological and health risks associated with prolonged space travel are becoming more prominent.

Most current research on astronaut health focuses on identifying individual genes or pathways for specific symptoms astronauts face. The human system is complex and delicate, and the effects of microgravity, radiation, and isolation on astronaut health during long-duration spaceflight are still not fully understood. This study used a novel ranking and analysis methodology to combine space omics data from multiple datasets in the NASA OSDR repository. The data was used to generate a multi-omic, integrative bioinformatics analysis pipeline, which identified and characterized a genome-wide spaceflight gene expression correlation loss as a central biosignature for astronaut health on the International Space Station (ISS).

Our findings indicate that genome-wide correlation loss corresponds to a breakdown in gene synchronization and cooperation, showcasing the systemic symptoms spaceflight induces and their genomic roots.


Link | PDF (Preprint: BioRxiv)

 

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Human spaceflight is associated with numerous physiological and psychological changes, including bone loss, muscle atrophy, and cognitive decline, which can compromise the health and safety of astronauts during long-duration missions.

Long-term health monitoring after return from space missions is currently done through the Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health (LSAH) program, and although specific pathways, such as mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammatory stress, have been identified as characteristic of spaceflight, very few genome-wide responses to spaceflight have been investigated so far.

In recent years, multi-omics analysis has emerged as a powerful tool for understanding complex biological systems. Multi-omics combines different types of molecular data, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of biological processes.

In this study, we characterize a large decrease in gene-pair correlation as a measure of whole genome regulation, as well as in individual signaling pathways, using data from multiple missions on the International Space Station (ISS).

The most upregulated gene in the inflight samples compared to the preflight samples, SNORA81, encodes for a small nucleolar RNA [...] conversion of uridine to pseudouridine [...] enriched in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s [...] recently identified as an important factor in RNA deregulation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

The second-most upregulated gene, PKP1, is predominantly associated with human melanoma metastasis [...] hub gene and a key module that may serve as a potential tumor enhancer

Other notable significantly interconnected genes linked to the mitochondria include Corticotropin Releasing Hormone Receptor 1 (CRHR1), Collagen Type VII Alpha 1 (COL7A1), Amphiregulin (AREG), 3-Phosphoinositide Dependent Protein Kinase 1 (PDPK1) and CAMP Responsive Element Binding Protein 1 (CREB1).

 

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