RESEARCH ON INTERCELLULAR INTERACTION IN SPACEFLIGHT (INTERCELLULAR
INTERACTION)
Research Area: Immune System
Expedition(s): 7-12
Principal Investigator(s): ● Lyudmila B. Buravkova, MD, Institute of Medical and
Biological Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
Moscow, Russia
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The Research on Intercellular Interaction in Spaceflight (Intercellular Interaction) investigation
assesses the cytotoxic activity of lymphocytes isolated from human blood when co-cultured
with К-562 myeloblasts in microgravity.
EARTH BENEFITS
Laboratory experiments and inflight experiments demonstrate the possibility and effectiveness
of using a modified method of studying the cytotoxic activity of natural killer (NK) cells in vitro.
The results of the studies performed on the cytotoxic activity of NK cells co-cultured with К-562
myeloblasts in microgravity allow for more in-depth understanding of certain processes that
form the foundation of intercellular interactions.
SPACE BENEFITS
The studies performed opened up new opportunities for researching the role of stimuli in the
functioning of immunocompetent cells in vitro in microgravity conditions. The results of the
work corroborate theoretical ideas regarding the effect of microgravity conditions on the
intercellular interaction of NK lymphocytes and target
cells of line К-562. The data obtained are of practical
significance, since they substantiate the
methodological approaches to direct, in-flight
research on the status of anti-viral immunity in space
explorers, which is the foundation for developing
medical monitoring equipment at various phases of
long-term missions.
RESULTS
A number of researchers on cultures of isolated
mononuclear cells discovered that the functional
activity of T-cells was inhibited by the disruption of
their interaction with helper cells, which occurred
through signals necessary for expression of regulatory
molecules. The study performed showed that the
microgravity factor did not have an inhibitory effect
on the function of NK lymphocytes; in fact, half of the
inflight experiments demonstrated a significant
activation of the functional activity of NK cells.Cosmonaut Yu Malenchenko performs the
Research on Intercellular Interaction in
Spaceflight experiment aboard ISS-7.
Roscosmos
image.