Paula Cleggett-Haleim

Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

July 24, 1992
(Phone: 202/453-8400)

Jane Hutchison
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
(Phone: 415/604-4968)

RELEASE: 92-124

MISSION RESULTS: HOW LIFE ADAPTS TO SPACE

Human, plant and animal cells exposed to the microgravity

of space for only a few days show changes in function and
structure, according to NASA scientists.

Although preliminary, the results of the recent life

sciences research on the space shuttle suggest alterations in
metabolism, immune cell function, cell division and cell
attachment.

"This type of research is important not only in helping

us understand how life adapts to the weightlessness of space,
but also in increasing our knowledge of basic cell function
and thus contribute to the well-being of life on Earth," said
Dr. Thora Halstead, Manager of NASA's Space Biology Program.

Dr. Gerald Sonnenfeld of the University of Louisville,

Kentucky, reports that after nine days in space, human immune
cells failed to differentiate into mature effector cells. The
results of his investigation into how the stress of space
flight affects immune system cells suggest that the stress of
space flight can alter normal metabolic activities and
important aspects of immune cell function.
 "The failure of the body to produce mature, fully
differentiated cells in space may lead to health problems,
including impaired healing abilities and increased risk of
infection," he said.

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"Bone-forming cells exposed to microgravity also show

changes," said Dr. Emily Morey-Holton of NASA's Ames Research
Center, Moffett Field, Calif. Her study of how exposure to
microgravity changes the size, shape and cellular components
of rat bone cells revealed a significant number of floating,
dead bone-forming cells.

"Bone cells die if they can't attach to something,"

Morey-Holton said. "That we found so many unattached, dead
cells may indicate that gravity is required to show the cells
where to attach. This finding could be significant since many
biological processes, both in single cells and in multicelled
organisms, depend on cell attachment and recognition
processes."

She added that the attached bone cells, although healthy,

showed no signs of producing mineral. "It may be that bone
cells don't need to form mineral to support themselves in
microgravity," she said.

Morey-Holton and Sonnenfeld both used a novel

computerized cell culture incubator (the Space Tissue Loss
Module) to keep their cultures alive. The module, developed
by Dr. William Weismann of the Walter Reed Army Institute of
Research in Washington, D.C., was designed specifically for
studying the metabolic activities of cells in space.

"The successful operation of the STL Module signified a

landmark technological achievement in our ability to study
cell functions during space flight," Halstead said.

Plant cells also respond to microgravity, according to

Dr. Abraham Krikorian of the State University of New York at
Stony Brook. "There is increasing evidence that cells in the
roots of plants subjected to space flight undergo major
changes in their cell division profile, even after as few as
four days in space," he said.

"One particularly important consideration is that cells

be able to divide efficiently and to partition their genetic
information with high fidelity," he said. "In short, they
have to get their signals straight and to process them
accurately."

He noted that in one plant (Haplopappus gracilis) that

has only four chromosomes, overall root production was
significantly faster under space flight conditions. He also
said that changes in chromosomes were found in up to one-third
of the cells that flew in space.

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Dr. Pauline J. Duke of the University of Texas Health

Science Center in Houston also found differences between mouse
bone cells developed in space and on the ground. She said the
cells in microgravity showed changes in attachment.

"The surfaces of flight cells were smoother than those of

ground-based controls, indicating that matrix production or
secretion is altered during space flight, probably as a direct
result of microgravity exposure," she said. "Matrix forms the
basic structure of bone."

Dukes experiment, the first culture of skeletal cells in

space, was designed to determine whether cells sensitive to
gravitational changes in the whole animal and in organ culture
retained that sensitivity in cell culture.

Although Halstead is pleased with the results of these

studies, she said there is still much to learn. "We are just
beginning to understand how cells function in space," she
said.

"A more thorough understanding will come only after much

more research. We are looking to Space Station Freedom to
give us the opportunities to conduct the long-term studies
that ultimately may hold the key to this basic component of
life," she said.

The results of these studies will be reported Monday,

July 27, 1992, at a workshop on Cellular Response to
Microgravity as part of the Fifth International Congress on
Cell Biology in Madrid, Spain.

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