Overview of spaceflight immunology studies

• Published in: Journal of leukocyte biology Vol. 54; no. 3; pp. 179 - 188
• Main Author: Taylor, G. R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Legacy CDMS Society for Leukocyte Biology 01.09.1993
• Subjects: Aerospace Medicine; Animals; Humans; immune suppression; Immune System - physiology; infectious risk; Models, Biological; Space Flight; space immunology; Human; Immune System/physiology; Nasa Discipline Number 18-10; Salyut Project; Review; Space Flight; Short Duration; Nasa Center Jsc; Flight Experiment; Sts Shuttle Project; Long Duration; Apollo Project; Animals; Models, Biological; Nasa Discipline Regulatory Physiology; Nasa Program Space Physiology And Countermeasures; Manned; Review, Tutorial; Mir Project; NASA Program Space Physiology and Countermeasures; NASA Center JSC; NASA Discipline Number 18-10; NASA Discipline Regulatory Physiology
• ISSN: 0741-5400; 1938-3673
• DOI: 10.1002/jlb.54.3.179

The effects of spaceflight and analogues of spaceflight are discussed here and in nine accompanying articles. In this summary we present spaceflight studies with human subjects, animal subjects, and cell cultures and we review ground-based systems used to model the observed effects of spaceflight on the immune system. Human paradigms include bed rest, academic or psychological stress, physical stress, hypobaric or high altitude stress, and confinement. Animal models include antiorthostatic and orthostatic suspension, hypobarism, and confinement. The ten manuscripts in this collection were selected to provide a summary that should give the reader an overview of the various activities of spaceflight immunology researchers throughout the history of space travel. This manuscript identifies the major contributors to the study of spaceflight immunology, explains what types of studies have been conducted, and how they have changed over the years. Also presented is a discussion of the unusual limitations associated with spaceflight research and the efforts to develop appropriate ground-based surrogate model systems. Specific details, data, and mechanistic speculations will be held to a minimum, because they will be discussed in depth in the other articles in the collection.