Transcriptomics analysis reveals molecular alterations underpinning spaceflight dermatology

Henry Cope; Jonas Elsborg; Samuel Demharter; J Tyson McDonald; Chiara Wernecke; Hari Parthasarathy; Hriday Unadkat; Mira Chatrathi; Jennifer Claudio; Sigrid Reinsch; Pinar Avci; Sara R Zwart; Scott M Smith; Martina Heer; Masafumi Muratani; Cem Meydan; Eliah Overbey; Jangkeun Kim; Christopher R Chin; Jiwoon Park; Jonathan C Schisler; Christopher E Mason; Nathaniel J Szewczyk; Craig R G Willis; Amr Salam; Afshin Beheshti

doi:10.1038/s43856-024-00532-9

Transcriptomics analysis reveals molecular alterations underpinning spaceflight dermatology

Commun Med (Lond). 2024 Jun 11;4(1):106. doi: 10.1038/s43856-024-00532-9.

Authors

Henry Cope^#¹, Jonas Elsborg^#^{2

3}, Samuel Demharter³, J Tyson McDonald⁴, Chiara Wernecke^{5

6}, Hari Parthasarathy^{5

7}, Hriday Unadkat^{5

8}, Mira Chatrathi^{5

9}, Jennifer Claudio^{5

10}, Sigrid Reinsch^{5

11}, Pinar Avci¹², Sara R Zwart¹³, Scott M Smith¹⁴, Martina Heer¹⁵, Masafumi Muratani^{16

17}, Cem Meydan¹⁸, Eliah Overbey¹⁸, Jangkeun Kim¹⁸, Christopher R Chin¹⁸, Jiwoon Park^{18

19}, Jonathan C Schisler²⁰, Christopher E Mason^{18

19}, Nathaniel J Szewczyk^{1

21}, Craig R G Willis²², Amr Salam²³, Afshin Beheshti^{24

25}

Affiliations

¹ School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Derby, DE22 3DT, UK.
² Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, 2800, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
³ Abzu, Copenhagen, 2150, Denmark.
⁴ Department of Radiation Medicine, School of Medicine, Georgetown University, Washington D.C., WA, 20057, USA.
⁵ NASA GeneLab For High Schools Program (GL4HS), Space Biology Program, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA.
⁶ Department of Aerospace and Geodesy, TUM School of Engineering and Design, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
⁷ College of Engineering and Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
⁸ School of Engineering and Applied Science, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08540, USA.
⁹ College of Letters and Science, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
¹⁰ Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett field, CA, USA.
¹¹ Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett field, CA, USA.
¹² Department of Dermatology and Allergy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80337, Munich, Germany.
¹³ University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
¹⁴ Biomedical Research and Environmental Sciences Division, Human Health and Performance Directorate, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, 77058, USA.
¹⁵ IU International University of Applied Sciences, Erfurt and University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
¹⁶ Transborder Medical Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan.
¹⁷ Department of Genome Biology, Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan.
¹⁸ Department of Physiology, Biophysics and Systems Biology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁹ Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
²⁰ McAllister Heart Institute and Department of Pharmacology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
²¹ Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA.
²² School of Chemistry and Biosciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, BD7 1DP, UK.
²³ St John's Institute of Dermatology, King's College London, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, Guy's Hospital, Great Maze Pond, London, SE1 9RT, UK.
²⁴ Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett field, CA, USA. afshin.beheshti@nasa.gov.
²⁵ Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA. afshin.beheshti@nasa.gov.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Spaceflight poses a unique set of challenges to humans and the hostile spaceflight environment can induce a wide range of increased health risks, including dermatological issues. The biology driving the frequency of skin issues in astronauts is currently not well understood.

Methods: To address this issue, we used a systems biology approach utilizing NASA's Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) on space flown murine transcriptomic datasets focused on the skin, biochemical profiles of 50 NASA astronauts and human transcriptomic datasets generated from blood and hair samples of JAXA astronauts, as well as blood samples obtained from the NASA Twins Study, and skin and blood samples from the first civilian commercial mission, Inspiration4.

Results: Key biological changes related to skin health, DNA damage & repair, and mitochondrial dysregulation are identified as potential drivers for skin health risks during spaceflight. Additionally, a machine learning model is utilized to determine gene pairings associated with spaceflight response in the skin. While we identified spaceflight-induced dysregulation, such as alterations in genes associated with skin barrier function and collagen formation, our results also highlight the remarkable ability for organisms to re-adapt back to Earth via post-flight re-tuning of gene expression.

Conclusion: Our findings can guide future research on developing countermeasures for mitigating spaceflight-associated skin damage.

Plain language summary

Spaceflight is a hostile environment which can lead to health problems in astronauts, including in the skin. It is not currently well understood why these skin problems occur. Here, we analyzed data from the skin of space flown mice and astronauts to try and identify possible explanations for these skin problems. It appears that changes in the activation of genes related to damage to DNA, skin barrier health, and mitochondria (the energy-producing parts of cells) may play a role in these skin problems. Further research will be needed to confirm exactly how these changes influence skin health, which could lead to solutions for preventing and managing such issues in astronauts.

Abstract

Plain language summary

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