EXTRACELLULAR VESICLE TRANSCRIPTOMIC ANALYSIS FOR UNDERSTANDING MUSCLE AGING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF MICROGRAVITY
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) serve as critical regulators of intercellular communication by carrying diverse molecular cargos which reflect cellular states associated with environmental stressors. In this study, we investigated EVs derived from skeletal muscle tissue chips exposed to microgravity during the SpaceX CRS-25 mission, focusing on their transcriptomic profiles. We revealed molecular adaptation profiles induced by spaceflight, which exhibited differentiated expressions from young active (YA) and older sedentary (OS) individuals. Using a novel magnetic capture-release isolation method (ExCy) and the high-resolution sequencing aligned to the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) genome, we are able to identify age- and spaceflight-dependent transcriptomic shifts. Differential expression analysis revealed enrichment in apoptotic signaling, oxidative stress, and metabolic pathways, with younger individuals showing mitochondrial upregulation while older individuals exhibited stress response activation. Our results support the use of EVs as potential biomarkers for spaceflight-induced muscle atrophy and physiological stress, providing a foundation for future countermeasures and space medicine development.