Study Finds Space Travel Triggers Liver Damage That Mirrors Aging

What happens to the human body in space may help scientists develop new anti-aging therapies. Michal Masternak and his team at University of Central Florida have identified molecular changes in the liver that occur when space travelers experience radiation and microgravity, changes that resemble accelerated aging. The findings offer insight into health risks facing astronauts on prolonged missions and point to potential targets for treating age-related disease on Earth. 

“We focused on the liver because it is one of the major metabolic organs in our body,” says Masternak, senior author of the study published in GeroScience. “What we found was that just 24 hours after radiation exposure, there are many genetic changes in the liver that are remarkably similar to what happens during aging. We can assume that if someone were in space much longer, the damage could be much greater.”

To conduct the study, UCF researchers and U.S. scientists created a simulated deep space environment in the lab, exposing animal models to 14 days of simulated microgravity along with galactic cosmic radiation and solar particle events at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory, mimicking the dosage astronauts would face on a trip to Mars. The exposure triggered increased cellular senescence, inflammation, and fibrosis in the liver, changes that, left untreated, can lead to declining or failing organ function.

The team then compared these results to blood samples from NASA’s Twins Study and Inspiration4 astronauts and found similar genetic changes. “We’ve got this raw data from human studies, and they show that some of these changes are similar,” Masternak says. “That tells us we’re identifying useful molecular targets that one day could help protect astronauts during long-duration space missions.” The researchers also identified antagomirs, molecules that interact with microRNA to alter aging and inflammatory pathways, as a possible therapeutic approach.

Masternak notes that the space industry offers a way to study aging on an accelerated timeline. “Even in humans, it’s almost impossible because it would take decades,” he says. “But if we see some acceleration of aging in space, then we can translate it to human studies... and eventually use that knowledge to improve health for people here on Earth.” He adds that aging involves “the gradual and cascading failure of multiple organs and biological systems,” and that understanding where it starts improves the chances of preventing disease before it develops.