Home > Research > Publications & Outputs > Spaceflight Affects Neuronal Morphology and Alt...

Links

Text available via DOI:

View graph of relations

Spaceflight Affects Neuronal Morphology and Alters Transcellular Degradation of Neuronal Debris in Adult Caenorhabditis elegans

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
  • Ricardo Laranjeiro
  • Girish Harinath
  • Amelia K. Pollard
  • Christopher Gaffney
  • Colleen Deane
  • Siva Vanapalli
  • Timothy Etheridge
  • Nathaniel J Szewczyk
  • Monica Driscoll
Close
Article number102105
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>19/02/2021
<mark>Journal</mark>iScience
Issue number2
Volume24
Number of pages36
Publication StatusPublished
Early online date29/01/21
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

and private companies. However, spaceflight poses risks to human health and the effects on the nervous system have to be better characterized. Here, we exploited the unique experimental advantages of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to explore how spaceflight affects adult neurons in vivo. We found that animals that lived 5 days of adulthood on the International Space Station exhibited hyperbranching in PVD and touch receptor neurons. We also found that, in the presence of a neuronal proteotoxic stress, spaceflight promotes a remarkable accumulation of neuronal-derived waste in the surrounding tissues, suggesting an impaired transcellular degradation of debris released from neurons. Our data reveal that spaceflight can significantly affect adult neuronal morphology and clearance of neuronal trash, highlighting the need to carefully assess the risks of long-duration spaceflight on the nervous system and to develop adequate countermeasures for safe space exploration.