Manis, Cristina;
Manca, Alessia;
Murgia, Antonio;
Uras, Giuseppe;
Caboni, Pierluigi;
Congiu, Terenzio;
Faa, Gavino;
... Cao, Giacomo; + view all
(2022)
Understanding the Behaviour of Human Cell Types under Simulated Microgravity Conditions: The Case of Erythrocytes.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
, 23
(12)
, Article 6876. 10.3390/ijms23126876.
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Abstract
Erythrocytes are highly specialized cells in human body, and their main function is to ensure the gas exchanges, O2 and CO2, within the body. The exposure to microgravity environment leads to several health risks such as those affecting red blood cells. In this work, we investigated the changes that occur in the structure and function of red blood cells under simulated microgravity, compared to terrestrial conditions, at different time points using biochemical and biophysical techniques. Erythrocytes exposed to simulated microgravity showed morphological changes, a constant increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS), a significant reduction in total antioxidant capacity (TAC), a remarkable and constant decrease in total glutathione (GSH) concentration, and an augmentation in malondialdehyde (MDA) at increasing times. Moreover, experiments were performed to evaluate the lipid profile of erythrocyte membranes which showed an upregulation in the following membrane phosphocholines (PC): PC16:0_16:0, PC 33:5, PC18:2_18:2, PC 15:1_20:4 and SM d42:1. Thus, remarkable changes in erythrocyte cytoskeletal architecture and membrane stiffness due to oxidative damage have been found under microgravity conditions, in addition to factors that contribute to the plasticity of the red blood cells (RBCs) including shape, size, cell viscosity and membrane rigidity. This study represents our first investigation into the effects of microgravity on erythrocytes and will be followed by other experiments towards understanding the behaviour of different human cell types in microgravity.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Understanding the Behaviour of Human Cell Types under Simulated Microgravity Conditions: The Case of Erythrocytes |
| Location: | Switzerland |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3390/ijms23126876 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23126876 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Erythrocytes; microgravity; confocal and scanning electron microscopy; oxidative stress; mass spectrometry; lipidomics |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Clinical and Movement Neurosciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10184219 |
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