title: Rapid adaptation to microgravity in mammalian macrophage cells.
abstract: Despite the observed severe effects of microgravity on mammalian cells, many astronauts have completed long term stays in space without suffering from severe health problems. This raises questions about the cellular capacity for adaptation to a new gravitational environment. The International Space Station (ISS) experiment TRIPLE LUX A, performed in the BIOLAB laboratory of the ISS COLUMBUS module, allowed for the first time the direct measurement of a cellular function in real time and on orbit. We measured the oxidative burst reaction in mammalian macrophages (NR8383 rat alveolar macrophages) exposed to a centrifuge regime of internal 0 g and 1 g controls and step-wise increase or decrease of the gravitational force in four independent experiments. Surprisingly, we found that these macrophages adapted to microgravity in an ultra-fast manner within seconds, after an immediate inhibitory effect on the oxidative burst reaction. For the first time, we provided direct evidence of cellular sensitivity to gravity, through real-time on orbit measurements and by using an experimental system, in which all factors except gravity were constant. The surprisingly ultra-fast adaptation to microgravity indicates that mammalian macrophages are equipped with a highly efficient adaptation potential to a low gravity environment. This opens new avenues for the exploration of adaptation of mammalian cells to gravitational changes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland. cora.thiel@uzh.ch.|Department of Machine Design, Engineering Design and Product Development, Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Universitätsplatz 2, 39106, Magdeburg, Germany. cora.thiel@uzh.ch.|Space Life Sciences Laboratory (SLSL), Kennedy Space Center, 505 Odyssey Way, Exploration Park, FL, 32953, United States of America. cora.thiel@uzh.ch.
authors.forename: Cora S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Thiel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: de Zélicourt
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.|Department of Machine Design, Engineering Design and Product Development, Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Universitätsplatz 2, 39106, Magdeburg, Germany.|Space Life Sciences Laboratory (SLSL), Kennedy Space Center, 505 Odyssey Way, Exploration Park, FL, 32953, United States of America.
authors.forename: Svantje
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tauber
authors.affiliation: Airbus Defence and Space, GmbH, Claude-Dornier-Strasse, 88090, Immenstaad, Germany.
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Adrian
authors.affiliation: Airbus Defence and Space, GmbH, Claude-Dornier-Strasse, 88090, Immenstaad, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Franz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.|Department of Machine Design, Engineering Design and Product Development, Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Universitätsplatz 2, 39106, Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Dana M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Simmet
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schoppmann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.|Department of Machine Design, Engineering Design and Product Development, Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Universitätsplatz 2, 39106, Magdeburg, Germany.|Space Life Sciences Laboratory (SLSL), Kennedy Space Center, 505 Odyssey Way, Exploration Park, FL, 32953, United States of America.
authors.forename: Swantje
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hauschild
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krammer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Christen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Gesine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bradacs
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Paulsen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Susanne A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Space Agency, Königswinterer Strasse 522-524, 53227, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Braun
authors.affiliation: European Space Agency (ESA), Keplerlaan 1, 2201, AZ, Noordwijk, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hatton
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.|Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Vartan
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2665-0995
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kurtcuoglu
authors.affiliation: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Linder Hoehe, 51147, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Franke
authors.affiliation: BIOTESC, CC Aerospace Biomedical Science and Technology, Lucerne School of Engineering and Architecture, Technikumstrasse 21, 6048, Horw, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanner
authors.affiliation: European Space Agency (ESA), Keplerlaan 1, 2201, AZ, Noordwijk, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cristoforetti
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute (EBPI), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sick
authors.affiliation: Chair of Proteomics and Bioanalytics, Technical University of Munich, Alte Akademie 14, 85354, Freising, Germany.
authors.forename: Bertold
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hock
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland. oliver.ullrich@uzh.ch.|Department of Machine Design, Engineering Design and Product Development, Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Universitätsplatz 2, 39106, Magdeburg, Germany. oliver.ullrich@uzh.ch.|Space Life Sciences Laboratory (SLSL), Kennedy Space Center, 505 Odyssey Way, Exploration Park, FL, 32953, United States of America. oliver.ullrich@uzh.ch.|Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland. oliver.ullrich@uzh.ch.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ullrich
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D016676:Macrophages, Alveolar / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D016897:Respiratory Burst / Q000502:physiology*; D013026:Space Flight; D014893:Weightlessness