Neuropsychiatric disorders arise from complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors. DNA methylation, a reversible and environmentally responsive epigenetic regulatory mechanism, serves as a crucial bridge linking environmental exposure, gene expression regulation, and neurobehavioral outcomes. During long-duration deep-space missions, astronauts face multiple stressors-including microgravity, cosmic radiation, circadian rhythm disruption, and social isolation, which can induce alterations in DNA methylation and increase the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. Genome-wide DNA methylation research can be divided into 3 major methodological stages: Study design, sample preparation and detection, and data analysis, each of which can be applied to astronaut neuropsychiatric health monitoring. Systematic comparison of the Illumina MethylationEPIC array and whole-genome bisulfite sequencing reveals their complementary strengths in terms of genomic coverage, resolution, cost, and application scenarios: the array method is cost-effective and suitable for large-scale population studies and longitudinal monitoring, whereas sequencing provides higher resolution and coverage and is more suitable for constructing detailed methylation maps and characterizing individual variation. Furthermore, emerging technologies such as single-cell methylation sequencing, nanopore long-read sequencing, and machine-learning-based multi-omics integration are expected to greatly enhance the precision and interpretability of epigenetic studies. These methodological advances provide key support for establishing DNA-methylation-based monitoring systems for neuropsychiatric risk in astronauts and lay an epigenetic foundation for safeguarding neuropsychiatric health during future long-term deep-space missions.
DNA Methylation ; Humans ; Space Flight ; Mental Disorders/genetics* ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; Astronauts/psychology* ; Weightlessness/adverse effects* ; Epigenomics

As human deep space exploration enters a practical phase, ensuring astronaut health and safety has become a critical determinant of mission success. The cerebrovascular system, essential for maintaining brain function, is highly sensitive to environmental changes. Cerebrovascular diseases represent one of the characteristic adverse effects of deep space conditions such as microgravity and high-energy radiation, and have emerged as a frontier challenge in space medicine. Based on experiences from manned space missions, major research challenges persist, particularly the lack of experimental data specific to the lunar environment and the unclear threshold for low-dose radiation-induced injury. Elucidating the mechanisms and multifactorial interactions by which deep space environments impact cerebrovascular structure and function, and summarizing the key risk factors, pathological processes, and recent advances in monitoring and early-warning technologies for cerebrovascular diseases in lunar astronauts, and of crucial importance. A comprehensive understanding of the interplay between deep space environmental stressors and cerebrovascular injury, as well as the development of personalized prevention and intervention strategies, will provide both theoretical and practical foundations for safeguarding cerebrovascular health in future Chinese deep space missions, while promoting progress in related biomedical research, technological innovation, and international collaboration.
Humans ; Astronauts ; Cerebrovascular Disorders/etiology* ; Space Flight ; Weightlessness/adverse effects* ; Risk Factors ; Moon

With the continuous advancement of deep space exploration missions, maintaining astronaut skin health has become a critical medical issue affecting the safety and effectiveness of long-duration missions. Deep space environmental stressors, including microgravity, ionizing radiation, lunar dust exposure, and microbiome dysbiosis, can synergistically disrupt the skin barrier structure, leading to immune homeostasis imbalance and impaired wound healing. In recent years, research on skin protection in deep space has gradually evolved into a systematic "multi-dimensional integrated protective" framework. From the engineering protection perspective, optimization of multi-layer composite spacesuit structures, the use of hydrogen-rich and boron-containing shielding materials, as well as cabin temperature-humidity regulation and debris-resistant technologies, have greatly enhanced environmental defense capacity. From the biomedical protection perspective, functional hydrogels, antimicrobial dressings, and active compounds derived from traditional Chinese medicine have demonstrated remarkable potential in repairing the skin barrier, modulating immunity, and providing antioxidant defense. Meanwhile, the development of skin microecological interventions and wearable physiological monitoring systems has fostered a trend toward personalized health management. Future research should focus on elucidating the interactive mechanisms among the space environment, skin, and immune barrier, while exploring intelligent monitoring and nanotechnology-based protection strategies. Establishing a predictive and preventive skin health safeguarding system will provide comprehensive medical support for future deep space missions.
Humans ; Astronauts ; Skin/radiation effects* ; Space Flight ; Weightlessness/adverse effects* ; Wound Healing ; Extraterrestrial Environment

Long-term spaceflight exposes astronauts to multiple extreme environmental factors, such as cosmic radiation, microgravity, social isolation, and circadian rhythm disruption, that markedly increase the risk of depressive symptoms, posing a direct threat to mental health and mission safety. However, the underlying biological mechanisms remain complex and incompletely understood. The potential mechanisms of spaceflight-induced depressive symptoms involve multiple domains, including alterations in brain structure and function, dysregulation of neurotransmitters and neurotrophic factors, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, neuroendocrine system imbalance, and gut microbiota disturbances. Collectively, these changes may constitute the biological foundation of depressive in astronauts during spaceflight. Space-related stressors may increase the risk of depressive symptoms through several pathways: impairing hippocampal neuroplasticity, suppressing dopaminergic and serotonergic system function, reducing neurotrophic factor expression, triggering oxidative stress and inflammatory responses, activating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and disrupting gut microbiota homeostasis. Future research should integrate advanced technologies such as brain-computer interfaces to develop individualized monitoring and intervention strategies, enabling real-time detection and effective prevention of depressive symptoms to safeguard astronauts' psychological well-being and mission safety.
Space Flight ; Humans ; Astronauts/psychology* ; Depression/physiopathology* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Weightlessness/adverse effects* ; Oxidative Stress ; Brain/physiopathology* ; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System ; Neuronal Plasticity ; Pituitary-Adrenal System

The unique characteristics of the deep space environment, microgravity, cosmic radiation, and extreme temperature fluctuations, are emerging as major driving forces for pharmaceutical innovation. These factors provide new avenues for optimizing drug formulations, improving crystal structure quality, and accelerating the discovery of therapeutic targets. Advances in deep space research not only help overcome critical bottlenecks in terrestrial drug development but also promote progress in structure-based drug design and deepen understanding of cellular stress-response mechanisms. Current progress in space-based pharmaceutical research primarily includes the study of disease mechanisms under microgravity, protein crystallization in microgravity, and drug development utilizing deep space radiation and resources. However, the operational complexity, high costs, and limited data reproducibility of space experiments remain key challenges hindering widespread application. Looking ahead, with the integration of automation, artificial intelligence analysis, and on-orbit manufacturing, deep space drug development is expected to achieve greater scalability and precision, opening a new frontier in biopharmaceutical science.
Drug Design ; Drug Development/methods* ; Humans ; Weightlessness ; Space Flight ; Artificial Intelligence ; Extraterrestrial Environment

Objective: Exposure to microgravity results in postflight cardiovascular deconditioning in astronauts. Vascular oxidative stress injury and mitochondrial dysfunction have been reported during this process. To elucidate the mechanism for this condition, we investigated whether mitochondrial oxidative stress regulates calcium homeostasis and vasoconstriction in hindlimb unweighted (HU) rat cerebral arteries. Methods: Three-week HU was used to simulate microgravity in rats. The contractile responses to vasoconstrictors, mitochondrial fission/fusion, Ca Results: An increase of cytoplasmic Ca Conclusion The present results suggest that mitochondrial oxidative stress enhances cerebral vasoconstriction by regulating calcium homeostasis during simulated microgravity.
Animals ; Calcium/metabolism* ; Cerebral Arteries ; Homeostasis ; Male ; Mitochondria/physiology* ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle/physiology* ; Oxidative Stress ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Vasoconstriction/physiology* ; Weightlessness Simulation

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether collagen peptides can improve the immune functions of mice under the condition of simulated weightlessness. METHODS: Mouse tail-suspension model was used to simulate the effects of weightlessness. Tail-suspended mice were intraperitoneally injected with 600 mg collagen peptides per kilogram body weight once a day for 10 days. Then, the mice were killed, and white blood cells were counted and classified. Lymphocyte subsets and T lymphocyte proliferations in spleens were analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with normal control group, total and differential count of leukocytes, lymphocytes, T cells，CD4 and CD8 T cells, B cells and NK cells, and splenic T lymphocyte proliferation all decreased in the weightlessness simulated mice (P＜0.05). Except for NK cells, the above-mentioned parameters were increased after administration of collagen peptides, and some of the parameters were recovered to the levels of normal control mice (P＜0.05). CONCLUSION Collagen peptides can effectively improve peripheral blood lymphocyte distributions and T lymphocyte proliferations of mice under the condition of simulated weightlessness. This study nay provid the experimental basis for improvement of immune functions of astronauts.
Animals ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; Cell Proliferation ; Collagen ; Lymphocyte Count ; Mice ; Peptides ; Spleen ; Weightlessness ; Weightlessness Simulation

gravity into dishes. We performed immunocytochemistry and Western blot to determine phenotype and morphologic changes from passage 1 to 5. The primary cultured cells were exposed to a normal-glucose (5 mmol/L) or a high-glucose (30 mmol/L) condition, and then tube formation assay was done.RESULTS: We successfully isolated high-purity EC and pericytes from human corpus cavernosum tissue. Primary cultured EC showed highly positive staining for von Willebrand factor, and pericyte revealed positive staining for NG2 and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-β. Primary cultured EC and pericytes maintained their cellular characteristics up to passage 2 or 3. However, we observed significant changes in their typical phenotype from the passage 4 and morphological characteristics from the passage 3. Human cavernous EC or pericytes formed well-organized capillary-like structures in normal-glucose condition, whereas severely impaired tube formation was detected in high-glucose condition.CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a simple and nonenzymatic method for primary culture of human cavernous EC and pericytes. Our study will aid us to understand the pathophysiology of diabetic erectile dysfunction, and also be a valuable tool for determining the efficacy of candidate therapeutic targets.]]>
Blotting, Western ; Cells, Cultured ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Endothelial Cells ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Gravitation ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Methods ; Pericytes ; Phenotype ; Platelet-Derived Growth Factor ; von Willebrand Factor

The development of breast implant technology continues to evolve over time, but changes in breast shape after implantation have not been fully elucidated. Thus, we performed computerized finite element analysis in order to better understand the trajectory of changes and stress variation after breast implantation. The finite element analysis of changes in breast shape involved two components: a static analysis of the position where the implant is inserted, and a dynamic analysis of the downward pressure applied in the direction of gravity during physical activity. Through this finite element analysis, in terms of extrinsic changes, it was found that the dimensions of the breast implant and the position of the top-point did not directly correspond to the trajectory of changes in the breast after implantation. In addition, in terms of internal changes, static and dynamic analysis showed that implants with a lower top-point led to an increased amount of stress applied to the lower thorax. The maximum stress values were 1.6 to 2 times larger in the dynamic analysis than in the static analysis. This finding has important implications for plastic surgeons who are concerned with long-term changes or side effects, such as bottoming-out, after anatomic implant placement.
Breast Implantation ; Breast Implants ; Breast ; Computer Simulation ; Female ; Finite Element Analysis ; Gravitation ; Mammaplasty ; Motor Activity ; Plastics ; Surgeons ; Thorax

Barium sulfate is commonly used to prepare contrast media for videofluorograpy. The flow characteristics of thickened liquids formulated for oropharyngeal imaging are known to be greatly affected by the addition of barium. In this study, thickened barium liquids were prepared by mixing a commercial xanthan gum (XG)-based thickener (Visco-up®) at different concentrations (0.1%–3.0%) with barium powder (Baritop HD®), and differences in the viscosity between thickened non-barium and thickened barium liquids were investigated. In addition, the thickness levels of thickened barium liquids, which are based on the National Dysphagia Diet (NDD) and International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) guidelines, were classified by measuring the viscosity (NDD) and gravity flow through a syringe (IDDSI) with 0.1%–3.0% thickener concentrations. The apparent viscosity (η(a),₅₀) values of thickened barium liquids were much higher than those of thickened non-barium liquids, indicating that the addition of barium to the XG-based thickener resulted in further thickening. Standard recipes for preparing thickened barium liquids with desirable thickness levels were also established, showing the different thickener concentrations corresponding to the different NDD and IDDSI levels.
Aphasia ; Barium Sulfate ; Barium ; Contrast Media ; Deglutition Disorders ; Diagnosis ; Diet ; Gingiva ; Gravitation ; Syringes ; Viscosity