Vive la radiorésistance!: converging research in radiobiology and biogerontology to enhance human radioresistance for deep space exploration and colonization.

While many efforts have been made to pave the way toward human space colonization, little consideration has been given to the methods of protecting spacefarers against harsh cosmic and local radioactive environments and the high costs associated with protection from the deleterious physiological effects of exposure to high-Linear energy transfer (high-LET) radiation. Herein, we lay the foundations of a roadmap toward enhancing human radioresistance for the purposes of deep space colonization and exploration. We outline future research directions toward the goal of enhancing human radioresistance, including upregulation of endogenous repair and radioprotective mechanisms, possible leeways into gene therapy in order to enhance radioresistance via the translation of exogenous and engineered DNA repair and radioprotective mechanisms, the substitution of organic molecules with fortified isoforms, and methods of slowing metabolic activity while preserving cognitive function. We conclude by presenting the known associations between radioresistance and longevity, and articulating the position that enhancing human radioresistance is likely to extend the healthspan of human spacefarers as well

Physiological Balance of the Body: Theory, Algorithms, and Results

Aim: To confirm algorithm of determination of risk groups with physiological imbalance in the population exposed to unfavorable anthropogenic influences. Methods: The testing included such functional systems as constitution, myocardial contractility, autonomic regulation of the heart rate, regulation of peripheral circulation, psychomotor regulation, respiratory regulation and metabolism. Monitoring is carried out using computerized measurement instrumentation and data processing systems. Results: A risk group with pronounced shifts in the physiological balance was identified, which made up 38% of the surveyed population. The greatest contribution to the imbalance was made by the psychomotor system. Conclusion: We analyzed two different components of organism’s adaptation: resistance and resilience. Physiological systems experiencing increasing load attain a tipping points, where even a weak disturbing influence can induce transition to a qualitatively different state. This transition can result in either recovery of the regulatory stability of the system, or its transition to a lower level (dysregulation) with further development of a pathology. In this regard, of paramount importance is early detection of the signals about approaching the tipping points, one of these is the slowing down phenomenon during functional tests. In view of intricate interaction of physiological systems, recording of as much indicators as possible is advisable. The method of partial correlations is effective for evaluation of adaptive interaction of systems

Physiological Balance of the Body: Theory, Algorithms, and Results

Aim: To confirm algorithm of determination of risk groups with physiological imbalance in the population exposed to unfavorable anthropogenic influences. Methods: The testing included such functional systems as constitution, myocardial contractility, autonomic regulation of the heart rate, regulation of peripheral circulation, psychomotor regulation, respiratory regulation and metabolism. Monitoring is carried out using computerized measurement instrumentation and data processing systems. Results: A risk group with pronounced shifts in the physiological balance was identified, which made up 38% of the surveyed population. The greatest contribution to the imbalance was made by the psychomotor system. Conclusion: We analyzed two different components of organism’s adaptation: resistance and resilience. Physiological systems experiencing increasing load attain a tipping points, where even a weak disturbing influence can induce transition to a qualitatively different state. This transition can result in either recovery of the regulatory stability of the system, or its transition to a lower level (dysregulation) with further development of a pathology. In this regard, of paramount importance is early detection of the signals about approaching the tipping points, one of these is the slowing down phenomenon during functional tests. In view of intricate interaction of physiological systems, recording of as much indicators as possible is advisable. The method of partial correlations is effective for evaluation of adaptive interaction of systems

New Properties of a Well-Known Antioxidant: Pleiotropic Effects of Human Lactoferrin in Mice Exposed to Gamma Irradiation in a Sublethal Dose

We studied the effects of human lactoferrin (hLf), a multifunctional protein from the transferrin family, on integral (survival, lifespan during the experiment, body weight, behavior, subfractional compositions of blood serum) and systemic (hemoglobin level, leukocyte number, differential leukocyte count, histological structure of the liver and spleen) parameters of the body in mice after acute gamma irradiation in a sublethal dose. The experiments were performed on male C57BL/6 mice. The mice in the experimental groups were exposed to whole-body gamma radiation in a dose of 7.5 Gy from a 60Co source. Immediately after irradiation and 24 h after it, some animals received an intraperitoneal injection of hLf (4 mg/mouse). Single or repeated administration of hLf had a positive pleiotropic effect on irradiated animals: animal survival increased from 28% to 78%, and the mean life expectancy during the experiment (30 days) increased from 16 to 26 days. A compensatory effect of hLf on radiation-induced body weight loss, changes in homeostasis parameters, and a protective effect on the structural organization of the spleen were demonstrated. These data indicate that Lf has potential as a means of early therapy after radiation exposure

Cardiovascular system parameters in participants of Arctic expeditions

ObjectivesA method of continuous heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) recording was used for the evaluation of the cardiovascular system parameters in participants of short-term (<1 month) high-latitude expeditions, in comparison with the parameters of residents of Central Russia and the Arctic region.Material and MethodsA dynamic examination of participants of Arctic expeditions (30 men, residents of middle-latitude regions, aged 46.7±1.7 years), workers permanently living in Central Russia (the Moscow region, 44 men, aged 46.7±1.0 years) and residents of the North (the Murmansk region, 35 men, aged 46.6±1.3 years) was performed. The authors used a spiroartheriocardiorythmograph allowing the parallel recording of HR, BP, spectral characteristics of HR variability (HRV) and the variability of systolic BP (sBP) and diastolic BP (dBP), cardiac performance parameters, and spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity (BRS). The parameters were recorded at rest, in a sitting position, over 2 min.ResultsThe basic clinical parameters (HR, BP and cardiac performance) did not differ in the workers living in different climatic zones. However, the residents of the North demonstrated a lower total power (TP) of the dBP variability spectrum and a lower relative power of the high-frequency (HF) range in both the sBP and dBP variability spectra. The participants of expeditions to the North had a lower TP of the HRV spectrum (in comparison with both control groups) that did not change during the expeditions; BRS was reduced, while the TP of the sBP spectrum was increased in comparison with the corresponding parameters obtained from the residents of circumpolar regions, and decreased during the expedition in parallel with a decrease in the sBP values. The TP of both the sBP and dBP variability spectra, as well as the power of the HF range in these spectra, were similar in the participants of expeditions to those obtained from the residents of Central Russia, and they considerably surpassed the corresponding parameters in the northerners surveyed.ConclusionsThe revealed peculiarities of the cardiovascular system in the participants of high-latitude expeditions can be considered as correlates of positive, and adequate in terms of the physiological value, adaptive shifts in the autonomous regulation of the cardiovascular system

Ultratrace element contents in rat tissues: Comparative analysis of serum and hair as indicative matrices of the total body burden

The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of ultratrace elements in rat tissues and to perform a comparative analysis of hair and serum as potential bioindicators of the total ultratrace element content. Thirty-six male Wistar rats were fed a standard chow containing 0.006±0.000, 0.001±0.000, 0.017±0.002, 0.382±0.031, 0.168±0.014, 3.211±0.134, 0.095±0.006, 0.000±0.000, 6.675±0.336, 15.327±0.564, 0.002±0.000, and 1.185±0.202 μg/g of silver (Ag), gold (Au), cesium (Cs), gallium (Ga), germanium (Ge), lanthanum (La), niobium (Nb), platinum (Pt), rubidium (Rb), titanium (Ti), thallium (Tl)and zirconium (Zr), respectively, from weaning to 3 months old. The ultratrace element content in the liver, kidney, muscle, heart, serum and hair was assessed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The obtained data indicate that the highest concentrations of most of the studied elements (Ti, Zr, Ge, Nb, tungsten (W), La, uranium (U), Ag, Au, Pt) are in hair, whereas the lowest were observed in the serum. Statistical analysis revealed a significant association between concentrations in the hair and other tissues for Cs, Ti, Nb, Tl, La, U and Au. At the same time, serum Cs, Rb, Ti, Ge, Nb, W, Ga, Tl and La concentrations significantly correlated with the tissue content of the respective ultratrace elements. It can be concluded that hair may be used as a potential bioindicator for certain ultratrace element content in the mammalian organism