With extended stays aboard the International Space Station (ISS) becoming commonplace, there is a need to better understand the effects of microgravity on cardiac function. We utilized human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) to study the effects of microgravity on cell-level cardiac function and gene expression. The hiPSC-CMs were cultured aboard the ISS for 5.5 weeks and their gene expression, structure, and functions were compared with ground control hiPSC-CMs. Exposure to microgravity on the ISS caused alterations in hiPSC-CM calcium handling. RNA-sequencing analysis demonstrated that 2,635 genes were differentially expressed among flight, post-flight, and ground control samples, including genes involved in mitochondrial metabolism. This study represents the first use of hiPSC technology to model the effects of spaceflight on human cardiomyocyte structure and function.

随着在国际空间站（ISS）上的长期停留变得司空见惯，有必要更好地了解微重力对心脏功能的影响。我们利用人类诱导的多能干细胞衍生的心肌细胞（hiPSC-CMs）研究了微重力对细胞水平心脏功能和基因表达的影响。将hiPSC-CMs在ISS上培养5.5周，并将其基因表达，结构和功能与地面对照hiPSC-CMs进行比较。ISS上的微重力暴露导致hiPSC-CM钙处理的改变。RNA测序分析表明，在飞行，飞行后和地面对照样品中2635个基因差异表达，包括参与线粒体代谢的基因。