Hematological and immunological changes during space flight.
This paper gives a summary of the principal hematological and immunological changes observed in crews after space flight. Reduction of red blood cell mass (2-21%) and of hemoglobin mass (12-33%) is generally observed after the US and Soviet space missions. The changes are accompanied with a loss of plasma volume (4-16%). Erythrocyte and hemoglobin concentrations in the blood remain constant, suggesting that the changes are driven by a feed-back mechanism. Immunological changes consist mainly of reduced T-lymphocyte reactivity. The results of the 96-day and 140-day Salyut-6 missions suggest that the adaptation of the immune system to spaceflight occurs in two stages: the first takes place during the first 2-3 months in space, the second follows and consists of further weakening of the immune response. Our experiments with human lymphocytes in vitro indicate that high-g enhance, whereas low-g depress lymphocyte activity. Finally, our investigations to be performed on Spacelab are described.
Cogoli
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Laboratorium fur Biochemie, ETH-Zentrum, Zurich, Switzerland.
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D001790:Blood Physiological Phenomena; D004911:Erythrocyte Volume; D006441:Hemoglobin A / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System; D008297:Male; D010953:Plasma Volume; D017701:Reticulocyte Count; D013026:Space Flight; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D014586:USSR; D014481:United States; D014893:Weightlessness
D006441:Hemoglobin A