Proteomic Remodeling in the Female Heart During Spaceflight and Recovery
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Biology, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
- 2Nevada Proteomics Center, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA
- 3Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
- 4Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
- 5Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA
Abstract
Spaceflight profoundly impacts cardiovascular physiology. To gain insight into the underlying molecular adaptations, we examined the female cardiac proteome during spaceflight and recovery. We hypothesized that spaceflight remodels the cardiac proteome, including mitochondrial bioenergetics and redox homeostasis pathways, during both flight and recovery, altering cardiovascular health risk. Proteomic analysis was performed on hearts from female C57BL/6J mice flown aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for 55 to 60 days as part of the NASA Rodent Research-20 (RR-20) study and a recovery cohort returned to Earth after 42 days, with sampling occurring five days after landing, and corresponding ground controls. Consistent with our hypothesis, spaceflight enriched mitochondrial bioenergetic pathways relative to ground controls, including cellular respiration, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation. These changes occurred alongside the remodeling of antioxidant pathways, suggesting altered redox regulation during flight and increased susceptibility to reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in the heart versus controls. Postflight recovery was characterized by distinct metabolic, redox, and structural remodeling signatures, including pathways associated with sarcomere organization, contractile function, and extracellular matrix regulation. These findings reveal cardiac proteomic remodeling during and after spaceflight and provide molecular insights relevant to cardiovascular risk assessment and countermeasure development for exploration missions.
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BibTeX
@article{ahmed2026proteomic,
title = {{Proteomic Remodeling in the Female Heart During Spaceflight and Recovery}},
author = {Aamena Ahmed and Daniel Figueiredo and Rebekah J. Woolsey and David R. Quilici and Stephanie Puukila and Joshua S. Alwood and April E. Ronca and Lane K. Christenson and Candice G. T. Tahimic},
journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ijms27209215},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/20/9215},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Proteomic Remodeling in the Female Heart During Spaceflight and Recovery
AU - Aamena Ahmed
AU - Daniel Figueiredo
AU - Rebekah J. Woolsey
AU - David R. Quilici
AU - Stephanie Puukila
AU - Joshua S. Alwood
AU - April E. Ronca
AU - Lane K. Christenson
AU - Candice G. T. Tahimic
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
DO - 10.3390/ijms27209215
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/20/9215
AB - Spaceflight profoundly impacts cardiovascular physiology. To gain insight into the underlying molecular adaptations, we examined the female cardiac proteome during spaceflight and recovery. We hypothesized that spaceflight remodels the cardiac proteome, including mitochondrial bioenergetics and redox homeostasis pathways, during both flight and recovery, altering cardiovascular health risk. Proteomic analysis was performed on hearts from female C57BL/6J mice flown aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for 55 to 60 days as part of the NASA Rodent Research-20 (RR-20) study and a recovery cohort returned to Earth after 42 days, with sampling occurring five days after landing, and corresponding ground controls. Consistent with our hypothesis, spaceflight enriched mitochondrial bioenergetic pathways relative to ground controls, including cellular respiration, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation. These changes occurred alongside the remodeling of antioxidant pathways, suggesting altered redox regulation during flight and increased susceptibility to reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in the heart versus controls. Postflight recovery was characterized by distinct metabolic, redox, and structural remodeling signatures, including pathways associated with sarcomere organization, contractile function, and extracellular matrix regulation. These findings reveal cardiac proteomic remodeling during and after spaceflight and provide molecular insights relevant to cardiovascular risk assessment and countermeasure development for exploration missions.
SN - 1422-0067
ER -