title: Microgravity as a biological tool to examine host-pathogen interactions and to guide development of therapeutics and preventatives that target pathogenic bacteria.
abstract: Space exploration programs have long been interested in the effects of spaceflight on biology. This research is important not only in its relevance to future deep space exploration, but also because it has allowed investigators to ask questions about how gravity impacts cell behavior here on Earth. In the 1980s, scientists designed and built the first rotating wall vessel, capable of mimicking the low shear environment found in space. This vessel has since been used to investigate growth of both microorganisms and human tissue cells in low shear modeled microgravity conditions. Bacterial behavior has been shown to be altered both in space and under simulated microgravity conditions. In some cases, bacteria appear attenuated, whereas in others virulence is enhanced. This has consequences not only for manned spaceflight, but poses larger questions about the ability of bacteria to sense the world around them. By using the microgravity environment as a tool, we can exploit this phenomenon in the search for new therapeutics and preventatives against pathogenic bacteria for use both in space and on Earth.
authors.affiliation: Center for Vaccine Development and Institute for Global Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
authors.forename: Ellen E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Higginson
authors.affiliation: Center for Vaccine Development and Institute for Global Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Galen
authors.affiliation: Center for Vaccine Development and Institute for Global Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
authors.forename: Myron M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.affiliation: Center for Vaccine Development and Institute for Global Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA stennant@medicine.umaryland.edu.
authors.forename: Sharon M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Tennant
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000276:immunology; D055808:Drug Discovery; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D012106:Research; D013026:Space Flight; D014893:Weightlessness
chemical_list: D001428:Bacterial Vaccines
keywords: bacteria; host pathogen; microgravity; rotating wall vessel; spaceflight; virulence