Evaluating the effects of low-dose simulated galactic cosmic rays on murine hippocampal-dependent cognitive performance
Space exploration has advanced substantially over recent decades and plans to increase the duration of deep space missions are in preparation. One of the primary health concerns is potential damage to the central nervous system (CNS), resulting in loss of cognitive abilities and function. The majori...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2022.908632/full |
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| author | Pilar Simmons Pilar Simmons Pilar Simmons Madison Trujillo Madison Trujillo Madison Trujillo Taylor McElroy Regina Binz Regina Binz Rupak Pathak Rupak Pathak Antiño R. Allen Antiño R. Allen Antiño R. Allen |
| author_facet | Pilar Simmons Pilar Simmons Pilar Simmons Madison Trujillo Madison Trujillo Madison Trujillo Taylor McElroy Regina Binz Regina Binz Rupak Pathak Rupak Pathak Antiño R. Allen Antiño R. Allen Antiño R. Allen |
| author_sort | Pilar Simmons |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Space exploration has advanced substantially over recent decades and plans to increase the duration of deep space missions are in preparation. One of the primary health concerns is potential damage to the central nervous system (CNS), resulting in loss of cognitive abilities and function. The majority of ground-based research on space radiation-induced health risks has been conducted using single particle simulations, which do not effectively model real-world scenarios. Thus, to improve the safety of space missions, we must expand our understanding of the effects of simulated galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) on the CNS. To assess the effects of low-dose GCR, we subjected 6-month-old male BALB/c mice to 50 cGy 5-beam simplified GCR spectrum (1H, 28Si, 4He, 16O, and 56Fe) whole-body irradiation at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory. Animals were tested for cognitive performance with Y-maze and Morris water maze tests 3 months after irradiation. Irradiated animals had impaired short-term memory and lacked spatial memory retention on day 5 of the probe trial. Glial cell analysis by flow cytometry showed no significant changes in oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, microglia or neural precursor cells (NPC’s) between the sham group and GCR group. Bone marrow cytogenetic data showed a significant increase in the frequency of chromosomal aberrations after GCR exposure. Finally, tandem mass tag proteomics identified 3,639 proteins, 113 of which were differentially expressed when comparing sham versus GCR exposure (fold change > 1.5; p < 0.05). Our data suggest exposure to low-dose GCR induces cognitive deficits by impairing short-term memory and spatial memory retention. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T10:20:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-664995bac9be41469892255223ee9e50 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-453X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T10:20:38Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-664995bac9be41469892255223ee9e502022-12-22T02:50:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neuroscience1662-453X2022-12-011610.3389/fnins.2022.908632908632Evaluating the effects of low-dose simulated galactic cosmic rays on murine hippocampal-dependent cognitive performancePilar Simmons0Pilar Simmons1Pilar Simmons2Madison Trujillo3Madison Trujillo4Madison Trujillo5Taylor McElroy6Regina Binz7Regina Binz8Rupak Pathak9Rupak Pathak10Antiño R. Allen11Antiño R. Allen12Antiño R. Allen13Division of Radiation Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United StatesDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United StatesDepartment of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United StatesDivision of Radiation Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United StatesDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United StatesDepartment of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United StatesDepartment of Aging, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesDivision of Radiation Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United StatesDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United StatesDivision of Radiation Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United StatesDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United StatesDivision of Radiation Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United StatesDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United StatesDepartment of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United StatesSpace exploration has advanced substantially over recent decades and plans to increase the duration of deep space missions are in preparation. One of the primary health concerns is potential damage to the central nervous system (CNS), resulting in loss of cognitive abilities and function. The majority of ground-based research on space radiation-induced health risks has been conducted using single particle simulations, which do not effectively model real-world scenarios. Thus, to improve the safety of space missions, we must expand our understanding of the effects of simulated galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) on the CNS. To assess the effects of low-dose GCR, we subjected 6-month-old male BALB/c mice to 50 cGy 5-beam simplified GCR spectrum (1H, 28Si, 4He, 16O, and 56Fe) whole-body irradiation at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory. Animals were tested for cognitive performance with Y-maze and Morris water maze tests 3 months after irradiation. Irradiated animals had impaired short-term memory and lacked spatial memory retention on day 5 of the probe trial. Glial cell analysis by flow cytometry showed no significant changes in oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, microglia or neural precursor cells (NPC’s) between the sham group and GCR group. Bone marrow cytogenetic data showed a significant increase in the frequency of chromosomal aberrations after GCR exposure. Finally, tandem mass tag proteomics identified 3,639 proteins, 113 of which were differentially expressed when comparing sham versus GCR exposure (fold change > 1.5; p < 0.05). Our data suggest exposure to low-dose GCR induces cognitive deficits by impairing short-term memory and spatial memory retention.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2022.908632/fullgalactic cosmic radiationcentral nervous systemspace radiationMarsrisk |
| spellingShingle | Pilar Simmons Pilar Simmons Pilar Simmons Madison Trujillo Madison Trujillo Madison Trujillo Taylor McElroy Regina Binz Regina Binz Rupak Pathak Rupak Pathak Antiño R. Allen Antiño R. Allen Antiño R. Allen Evaluating the effects of low-dose simulated galactic cosmic rays on murine hippocampal-dependent cognitive performance Frontiers in Neuroscience galactic cosmic radiation central nervous system space radiation Mars risk |
| title | Evaluating the effects of low-dose simulated galactic cosmic rays on murine hippocampal-dependent cognitive performance |
| title_full | Evaluating the effects of low-dose simulated galactic cosmic rays on murine hippocampal-dependent cognitive performance |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating the effects of low-dose simulated galactic cosmic rays on murine hippocampal-dependent cognitive performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating the effects of low-dose simulated galactic cosmic rays on murine hippocampal-dependent cognitive performance |
| title_short | Evaluating the effects of low-dose simulated galactic cosmic rays on murine hippocampal-dependent cognitive performance |
| title_sort | evaluating the effects of low dose simulated galactic cosmic rays on murine hippocampal dependent cognitive performance |
| topic | galactic cosmic radiation central nervous system space radiation Mars risk |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2022.908632/full |
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