Microgravity induces proteomics changes involved in endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitochondrial protection.
Abstract
On Earth, biological systems have evolved in response to environmental stressors,
interactions dictated by physical forces that include gravity. The absence of gravity
is an extreme stressor and the impact of its absence on biological systems is ill-defined.
Astronauts who have spent extended time under conditions of minimal gravity (microgravity)
experience an array of biological alterations, including perturbations in cardiovascular
function. We hypothesized that physiological perturbations in cardiac function in
microgravity may be a consequence of alterations in molecular and organellar dynamics
within the cellular milieu of cardiomyocytes. We used a combination of mass spectrometry-based
approaches to compare the relative abundance and turnover rates of 848 and 196 proteins,
respectively, in rat neonatal cardiomyocytes exposed to simulated microgravity or
normal gravity. Gene functional enrichment analysis of these data suggested that the
protein content and function of the mitochondria, ribosomes, and endoplasmic reticulum
were differentially modulated in microgravity. We confirmed experimentally that in
microgravity protein synthesis was decreased while apoptosis, cell viability, and
protein degradation were largely unaffected. These data support our conclusion that
in microgravity cardiomyocytes attempt to maintain mitochondrial homeostasis at the
expense of protein synthesis. The overall response to this stress may culminate in
cardiac muscle atrophy.
Type
Journal articleSubject
Science & TechnologyMultidisciplinary Sciences
Science & Technology - Other Topics
SPECTROMETRY-BASED PROTEOMICS
UNFOLDED PROTEIN RESPONSE
ROTATING-WALL VESSEL
SIMULATED MICROGRAVITY
DYNAMIC SILAC
GENE
EXPRESSION
APOPTOSIS
TURNOVER
BIOLOGY
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/17823Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1038/srep34091Publication Info
Feger, Bryan J; Thompson, J Will; Dubois, Laura G; Kommaddi, Reddy P; Foster, Matthew
W; Mishra, Rajashree; ... Bowles, Dawn E (2016). Microgravity induces proteomics changes involved in endoplasmic reticulum stress and
mitochondrial protection. Scientific reports, 6(1). pp. 34091. 10.1038/srep34091. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/17823.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Dawn Elizabeth Bowles
Assistant Professor in Surgery
Bryan Feger
Medical Writer, Sr
A scientist with basic and clinical research training, who is passionate about supporting
Duke investigators and strengthening research integrity.
Matthew Wolf Foster
Associate Professor in Medicine
Martin Arthur Moseley III
Adjunct Professor in the Department of Cell Biology
Sudha Kaup Shenoy
Professor in Medicine
J. Will Thompson
Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology
Dr. Thompson's research focuses on the development and deployment of proteomics and
metabolomics mass spectrometry techniques for the analysis of biological systems.
He served as the Assistant Director of the Proteomics and Metabolomics Shared Resource
in the Duke School of Medicine from 2007-2021. He currently maintains collaborations
in metabolomics and proteomics research at Duke, and develops new tools for chemical
analysis as a Princi
Alphabetical list of authors with Scholars@Duke profiles.

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