Artificial gravity partially protects space-induced neurological deficits in Drosophila melanogaster

Siddhita D Mhatre; Janani Iyer; Juli Petereit; Roberta M Dolling-Boreham; Anastasia Tyryshkina; Amber M Paul; Rachel Gilbert; Matthew Jensen; Rebekah J Woolsey; Sulekha Anand; Marianne B Sowa; David R Quilici; Sylvain V Costes; Santhosh Girirajan; Sharmila Bhattacharya

doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111279

Artificial gravity partially protects space-induced neurological deficits in Drosophila melanogaster

Cell Rep. 2022 Sep 6;40(10):111279. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111279.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA; KBR, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA; COSMIAC Research Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
² Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA; KBR, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA; Universities Space Research Association, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.
³ Nevada Bioinformatics Center, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
⁴ Department of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA 94035, USA.
⁵ Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
⁶ Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA; Universities Space Research Association, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA; Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA 94035, USA; NASA Postdoctoral Program, Universities Space Research Association, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA; Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Department of Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology, Daytona Beach, FL 32114, USA.
⁷ Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA; NASA Postdoctoral Program, Universities Space Research Association, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
⁸ Nevada Proteomics Center, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
⁹ Department of Biological Sciences, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA 95192, USA.
¹⁰ Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
¹¹ Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA; Biological and Physical Sciences Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington DC 20024, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

Abstract

Spaceflight poses risks to the central nervous system (CNS), and understanding neurological responses is important for future missions. We report CNS changes in Drosophila aboard the International Space Station in response to spaceflight microgravity (SFμg) and artificially simulated Earth gravity (SF1g) via inflight centrifugation as a countermeasure. While inflight behavioral analyses of SFμg exhibit increased activity, postflight analysis displays significant climbing defects, highlighting the sensitivity of behavior to altered gravity. Multi-omics analysis shows alterations in metabolic, oxidative stress and synaptic transmission pathways in both SFμg and SF1g; however, neurological changes immediately postflight, including neuronal loss, glial cell count alterations, oxidative damage, and apoptosis, are seen only in SFμg. Additionally, progressive neuronal loss and a glial phenotype in SF1g and SFμg brains, with pronounced phenotypes in SFμg, are seen upon acclimation to Earth conditions. Overall, our results indicate that artificial gravity partially protects the CNS from the adverse effects of spaceflight.

Keywords: CP: Neuroscience; Drosophila; ISS; acclimation; artificial gravity; brain morphology; microgravity; oxidative stress; spaceflight.

Published by Elsevier Inc.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Animals
Drosophila / genetics
Drosophila melanogaster
Gravity, Altered*
Space Flight*
Weightlessness* / adverse effects

Grants and funding

P20 GM103440/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States