Analysis of femurs from mice embarked on board BION‐M1 biosatellite reveals a decrease in immune cell development, including B cells, after 1 wk of recovery on Earth

• DOI: 10.1096/fj.201801463r
• Publication Date: 2018-12-06T23:22:04Z
• Authors: Georg Tascher; Maude Gerbaix; Pauline Maes; Blandine Chazarin; Stéphanie Ghislin; Evgenia Antropova; Galina Vassilieva; Nassima Ouzren-Za...; Guillemette Gauqu...; Laurence Vico; Jean-Pol Frippiat; Fabrice Bertile
• Keywords: Male; 0301 basic medicine; B-Lymphocytes; Weightlessness; 610; Bone Marrow Cells; Cell Differentiation; Space Flight; 3. Good health; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice; 03 medical and health sciences; [SDV.IMM.IA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Immunology/Adaptive immunology; Bone Marrow; Animals; Femur; Spacecraft; Spleen

Bone loss and immune dysregulation are among the main adverse outcomes of spaceflight challenging astronauts' health and safety. However, consequences on B-cell development and responses are still under-investigated. To fill this gap, we used advanced proteomics analysis of femur bone and marrow to compare mice flown for 1 mo on board the BION-M1 biosatellite, followed or not by 1 wk of recovery on Earth, to control mice kept on Earth. Our data revealed an adverse effect on B lymphopoiesis 1 wk after landing. This phenomenon was associated with a 41% reduction of B cells in the spleen. These reductions may contribute to explain increased susceptibility to infection even if our data suggest that flown animals can mount a humoral immune response. Future studies should investigate the quality/efficiency of produced antibodies and whether longer missions worsen these immune alterations.-Tascher, G., Gerbaix, M., Maes, P., Chazarin, B., Ghislin, S., Antropova, E., Vassilieva, G., Ouzren-Zarhloul, N., Gauquelin-Koch, G., Vico, L., Frippiat, J.-P., Bertile, F. Analysis of femurs from mice embarked on board BION-M1 biosatellite reveals a decrease in immune cell development, including B cells, after 1 wk of recovery on Earth.