Metabolic stress in space: ROS-induced mutations in mice hint at a new path to cancer.

Long-duration spaceflight beyond Earth's magnetosphere poses serious health risks, including muscle atrophy, bone loss, liver and kidney damage, and the Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS). RNA-seq of mice aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for 37 days revealed extraordinary hypermutation in tissue-specific genes, with guanine base conversion predominating, potentially contributing to spaceflight-associated health risks. Our results suggest that the genome-wide accelerated mutation that we measured, seemingly independent of radiation dose, was induced by oxidative damage from higher atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO) levels and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) on the ISS.

Utility of Diffusion Tensor Imaging for Prognosis and Management of Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: A PRISMA Review.

Objective: As advances are made in quantitative magnetic resonance imaging, specifically diffusion tensor imaging, researchers have investigated its potential to serve as a biomarker of disease or prognosticator for postoperative recovery in the management of cervical spondylotic myelopathy. Here, we narratively review the current state of the emerging literature, describing areas of consensus and disagreement.

Methods: In accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, we queried 2 large databases for original manuscripts published in English and systematically produced a narrative review of the use of diffusion tensor imaging in the management of cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

Influence of the spaceflight environment on macrophage lineages.

Spaceflight and terrestrial spaceflight analogs can alter immune phenotypes. Macrophages are important immune cells that bridge the innate and adaptive immune systems and participate in immunoregulatory processes of homeostasis. Furthermore, macrophages are critically involved in initiating immunity, defending against injury and infection, and are also involved in immune resolution and wound healing.

Allelic chromatin structure precedes imprinted expression of during neurogenesis.

Differences in chromatin state inherited from the parental gametes influence the regulation of maternal and paternal alleles in offspring. This phenomenon, known as genomic imprinting, results in genes preferentially transcribed from one parental allele. While local epigenetic factors such as DNA methylation are known to be important for the establishment of imprinted gene expression, less is known about the mechanisms by which differentially methylated regions (DMRs) lead to differences in allelic expression across broad stretches of chromatin.

Allelic chromatin structure primes imprinted expression of during neurogenesis.

Differences in chromatin state inherited from the parental gametes influence the regulation of maternal and paternal alleles in offspring. This phenomenon, known as genomic imprinting, results in genes preferentially transcribed from one parental allele. While local epigenetic factors such as DNA methylation are known to be important for the establishment of imprinted gene expression, less is known about the mechanisms by which differentially methylated regions (DMRs) lead to differences in allelic expression across broad stretches of chromatin.