Funding Status:
Active - Currently funded and in progress
Procurement Mechanism(s):
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Aims:
Aim 1. Establish temporal profiles of human telomere length dynamics (before, during, and
after flight) for individual astronauts across the integrated One-Year Mission Project onboard the
ISS, and across the concurrent ground analog component (prolonged isolation missions).
• Evaluate telomere length dynamics (qRT-PCR) and shifts in individual telomere length distributions (Telo-FISH); bulk vs. stem/early progenitor cell populations
• Evaluate telomerase status/expression (TERT and HIF-1a protein levels; ELISA)
Aim 2. Establish temporal profiles of DNA damage responses (before, during, and after flight)
for individual astronauts across the integrated One-Year Mission Project onboard the ISS, and
across the concurrent ground analog component (prolonged isolation missions).
• Evaluate DNA damage responses; genomic vs. telomeric (g-H2AX foci, TIFs)
• Evaluate cytogenetic damage/biodosimetry; genome instability, telomere-specific oxidative damage, and ALT activation (Telo-dGH/G-rich sister telomere loss/T-SCE)