TY - JOUR

T1 - The cellbox-2 mission to the international space station

T2 - Thyroid cancer cells in space

AU - Melnik, Daniela

AU - Krüger, Marcus

AU - Schulz, Herbert

AU - Kopp, Sascha

AU - Wehland, Markus

AU - Bauer, Johann

AU - Baselet, Bjorn

AU - Vermeesen, Randy

AU - Baatout, Sarah

AU - Corydon, Thomas J.

AU - Infanger, Manfred

AU - Grimm, Daniela

N1 - Funding Information: This research was funded by Deutsches Zentrum f?r Luft-und Raumfahrt (DLR), grant numbers 50WB1524 and 50WB1924. This work is financially supported by the ESA/BELSPO/ ProdexIMPULSE contract (CO-90-11-2801-03, for Belgium). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

PY - 2021/8/2

Y1 - 2021/8/2

N2 - A spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) is a dream of many researchers. We had the chance to investigate the effect of real microgravity (CellBox-2 Space mission) on the transcriptome and proteome of FTC-133 human follicular thyroid cancer cells (TCC). The cells had been sent to the ISS by a Falcon 9 rocket of SpaceX CRS-13 from Cape Canaveral (United States) and cultured in six automated hardware units on the ISS before they were fixed and returned to Earth. Multicellular spheroids (MCS) were detectable in all spaceflight hardware units. The VCL, PXN, ITGB1, RELA, ERK1 and ERK2 mRNA levels were significantly downregulated after 5 days in space in adherently growing cells (AD) and MCS compared with ground controls (1g), whereas the MIK67 and SRC mRNA levels were both suppressed in MCS. By contrast, the ICAM1, COL1A1 and IL6 mRNA levels were significantly upregulated in AD cells compared with 1g and MCS. The protein secretion measured by multianalyte profiling technology and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (AngiogenesisMAP®, extracellular matrix proteins) was not significantly altered, with the exception of elevated angiopoietin 2. TCC in space formed MCS, and the response to microgravity was mainly anti-proliferative. We identified ERK/RELA as a major microgravity regulatory pathway.

AB - A spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) is a dream of many researchers. We had the chance to investigate the effect of real microgravity (CellBox-2 Space mission) on the transcriptome and proteome of FTC-133 human follicular thyroid cancer cells (TCC). The cells had been sent to the ISS by a Falcon 9 rocket of SpaceX CRS-13 from Cape Canaveral (United States) and cultured in six automated hardware units on the ISS before they were fixed and returned to Earth. Multicellular spheroids (MCS) were detectable in all spaceflight hardware units. The VCL, PXN, ITGB1, RELA, ERK1 and ERK2 mRNA levels were significantly downregulated after 5 days in space in adherently growing cells (AD) and MCS compared with ground controls (1g), whereas the MIK67 and SRC mRNA levels were both suppressed in MCS. By contrast, the ICAM1, COL1A1 and IL6 mRNA levels were significantly upregulated in AD cells compared with 1g and MCS. The protein secretion measured by multianalyte profiling technology and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (AngiogenesisMAP®, extracellular matrix proteins) was not significantly altered, with the exception of elevated angiopoietin 2. TCC in space formed MCS, and the response to microgravity was mainly anti-proliferative. We identified ERK/RELA as a major microgravity regulatory pathway.

KW - Cell signalling

KW - Cytokines

KW - Extracellular matrix

KW - Focal adhesion

KW - Growth

KW - Growth factors

KW - International Space Station

KW - Spaceflight

KW - Spheroids

KW - Thyroid cancer

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85112555235&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/ijms22168777

DO - 10.3390/ijms22168777

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 34445479

AN - SCOPUS:85112555235

VL - 22

JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences

JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences

SN - 1661-6596

IS - 16

M1 - 8777

ER -