title: Effects of a Closed Space Environment on Gene Expression in Hair Follicles of Astronauts in the International Space Station.
abstract: Adaptation to the space environment can sometimes pose physiological problems to International Space Station (ISS) astronauts after their return to earth. Therefore, it is important to develop healthcare technologies for astronauts. In this study, we examined the feasibility of using hair follicles, a readily obtained sample, to assess gene expression changes in response to spaceflight adaptation. In order to investigate the gene expression changes in human hair follicles during spaceflight, hair follicles of 10 astronauts were analyzed by microarray and real time qPCR analyses. We found that spaceflight alters human hair follicle gene expression. The degree of changes in gene expression was found to vary among individuals. In some astronauts, genes related to hair growth such as FGF18, ANGPTL7 and COMP were upregulated during flight, suggesting that spaceflight inhibits cell proliferation in hair follicles.
authors.affiliation: Divison of Aerospace Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan.|Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, Japan.|Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Terada
authors.affiliation: Advanced Engineering Services Co., Ltd., Takezono, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seki
authors.affiliation: Advanced Engineering Services Co., Ltd., Takezono, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Rika
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Shin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.affiliation: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, Japan.|Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Higashibata
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideyuki J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Majima
authors.affiliation: Divison of Aerospace Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan.|Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Masamichi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sudoh
authors.affiliation: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Chiaki
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mukai
authors.affiliation: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, Japan.|Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima, Japan.|Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan.|Department of Space and Astronautical Science, School of Physical Sciences, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Noriaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ishioka
mesh_terms: D018480:Astronauts; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D018859:Hair Follicle / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013026:Space Flight; D018531:Spacecraft; D059467:Transcriptome; D014893:Weightlessness