title: Effect of spaceflight on natural killer cell activity.
abstract: The effects of spaceflight on immune cell function were determined in rats flown on COSMOS 2044. Control groups included vivarium, synchronous, and antiorthostatically suspended rats. The ability of natural killer cells to lyse two different target cell lines was determined. Spleen and bone marrow cells obtained from flight rats showed significantly inhibited cytotoxicity for YAC-1 target cells compared with cells from synchronous control rats. This could have been due to exposure of the rats to microgravity. Antiorthostatic suspension did not affect the level of cytotoxicity from spleen cells of suspended rats for YAC-1 cells. On the other hand, cells from rats flown in space showed no significant differences from vivarium and synchronous control rats in cytotoxicity for K-562 target cells. Binding of natural killer cells to K-562 target cells was unaffected by spaceflight. Antiorthostatic suspension resulted in higher levels of cytotoxicity from spleen cells for 51Cr-labeled K-562 cells. The results indicate differential effects of spaceflight on function of natural killer cells. This shows that spaceflight has selective effects on the immune response.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Problems, Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Rykova
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sonnenfeld
authors.forename: A T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Lesnyak
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: D O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Meshkov
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Mandel
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Medvedev
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.forename: B B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.forename: I V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Konstantinova
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000276:immunology; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013026:Space Flight; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D014529:Uridine / Q000378:metabolism; D014893:Weightlessness / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D014529:Uridine