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Verma SD, Passerat de la Chapelle E, Malkani S, Juran CM, Boyko V, Costes SV, Cekanaviciute E. Astrocytes regulate vascular endothelial responses to simulated deep space radiation in a human organ-on-a-chip model. Front Immunol 2022; 13:864923. [PMID: 36275678 PMCID: PMC9580499 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.864923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Central nervous system (CNS) damage by galactic cosmic ray radiation is a major health risk for human deep space exploration. Simulated galactic cosmic rays or their components, especially high Z-high energy particles such as 56Fe ions, cause neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation in rodent models. CNS damage can be partially mediated by the blood-brain barrier, which regulates systemic interactions between CNS and the rest of the body. Astrocytes are major cellular regulators of blood-brain barrier permeability that also modulate neuroinflammation and neuronal health. However, astrocyte roles in regulating CNS and blood-brain barrier responses to space radiation remain little understood, especially in human tissue analogs. In this work, we used a novel high-throughput human organ-on-a-chip system to evaluate blood-brain barrier impairments and astrocyte functions 1-7 days after exposure to 600 MeV/n 56Fe particles and simplified simulated galactic cosmic rays. We show that simulated deep space radiation causes vascular permeability, oxidative stress, inflammation and delayed astrocyte activation in a pattern resembling CNS responses to brain injury. Furthermore, our results indicate that astrocytes have a dual role in regulating radiation responses: they exacerbate blood-brain barrier permeability acutely after irradiation, followed by switching to a more protective phenotype by reducing oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine secretion during the subacute stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonali D. Verma
- Space Biosciences Division, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Estrella Passerat de la Chapelle
- Space Biosciences Division, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Sherina Malkani
- Space Biosciences Division, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Cassandra M. Juran
- Space Biosciences Division, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Valery Boyko
- Space Biosciences Division, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States
- Bionetics, Yorktown, VA, United States
| | - Sylvain V. Costes
- Space Biosciences Division, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States
| | - Egle Cekanaviciute
- Space Biosciences Division, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States
- *Correspondence: Egle Cekanaviciute,
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