Space microgravity increases expression of genes associated with proliferation and differentiation in human cardiac spheres

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Hyun Hwang, Emory University; Antonio Rampoldi, Emory University; Parvin Forghani Esfahani, Emory University; Dong Li, Emory University; JordanJordan Fite, Techshot, Inc.; Gene Boland, Techshot, Inc.; Kevin Maher, Emory University; Chunhui Xu, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-12-09
• Publisher: Springer Nature
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2023
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-023-00336-6
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: npj Microgravity
• Volume: 9
• Start Page: 88
• Grant/Funding Information: This study was supported in part by grants from the Center for Advancement of Science in Space (GA-2017-266 and GA-2023-9022), the National Institutes of Health (R01HL136345 and R01AA028527), and the National Science Foundation (CBET 1926387).
• Keywords: Molecular medicine; Cell biology
• Research Categories: Engineering, Biomedical; Biology, Molecular; Biology, Cell

Abstract

Efficient generation of cardiomyocytes from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) is important for their application in basic and translational studies. Space microgravity can significantly change cell activities and function. Previously, we reported upregulation of genes associated with cardiac proliferation in cardiac progenitors derived from hiPSCs that were exposed to space microgravity for 3 days. Here we investigated the effect of long-term exposure of hiPSC-cardiac progenitors to space microgravity on global gene expression. Cryopreserved 3D hiPSC-cardiac progenitors were sent to the International Space Station (ISS) and cultured for 3 weeks under ISS microgravity and ISS 1 G conditions. RNA-sequencing analyses revealed upregulation of genes associated with cardiac differentiation, proliferation, and cardiac structure/function and downregulation of genes associated with extracellular matrix regulation in the ISS microgravity cultures compared with the ISS 1 G cultures. Gene ontology analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes mapping identified the upregulation of biological processes, molecular function, cellular components, and pathways associated with cell cycle, cardiac differentiation, and cardiac function. Taking together, these results suggest that space microgravity has a beneficial effect on the differentiation and growth of cardiac progenitors.