Effects of spaceflight on the immunoglobulin repertoire of unimmunized C57BL/6 mice

Life Sciences in Space Research
Claire WardStephen K Chapes

Abstract

Spaceflight has been shown to suppress the adaptive immune response, altering the distribution and function of lymphocyte populations. B lymphocytes express highly specific and highly diversified receptors, known as immunoglobulins (Ig), that directly bind and neutralize pathogens. Ig diversity is achieved through the enzymatic splicing of gene segments within the genomic DNA of each B cell in a host. The collection of Ig specificities within a host, or Ig repertoire, has been increasingly characterized in both basic research and clinical settings using high-throughput sequencing technology (HTS). We utilized HTS to test the hypothesis that spaceflight affects the B-cell repertoire. To test this hypothesis, we characterized the impact of spaceflight on the unimmunized Ig repertoire of C57BL/6 mice that were flown aboard the International Space Station (ISS) during the Rodent Research One validation flight in comparison to ground controls. Individual gene segment usage was similar between ground control and flight animals, however, gene segment combinations and the junctions in which gene segments combine was varied among animals within and between treatment groups. We also found that spontaneous somatic mutations in the IgH and...Continue Reading

Citations

Jul 28, 2018·FASEB Journal : Official Publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology·Coralie FonteJean-Pol Frippiat
Nov 30, 2018·Journal of Applied Physiology·Guillaume SpielmannJohn Campbell
May 16, 2020·NPJ Microgravity·Taishin AkiyamaSatoshi Furukawa
Oct 14, 2020·FASEB Journal : Official Publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology·Judith-Irina BuchheimJean-Pol Frippiat
Feb 6, 2021·Life·Macauley J GreenPhilip M Williams
Feb 14, 2021·NPJ Microgravity·Taishin AkiyamaSatoshi Furukawa

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