Russian researchers, together with colleagues from Canada, have uncovered the effect of space flight on the protein composition of blood. The corresponding study was published in the scientific journal Scientific Reports.
In particular, they found that the human body reacts to weightlessness as a disease, and the immune system includes all kinds of defense mechanisms.
The researchers came to similar conclusions after analyzing the concentration of 125 proteins in the blood plasma of 18 Russian cosmonauts. The corresponding tests were taken from them a month before the flight, upon returning from space and after a week of rehabilitation.
It was possible to confirm that the concentration of proteins involved in the regulation of immunity has changed. Thus, the human body reacts to space flight as a disease at the molecular level. During the flight, all types of cells, organs and tissues of a person undergo adaptation processes to new conditions.
In their work, scientists resorted to quantitative proteomics, determining both the presence of the protein itself and its amount. In the future, they intend to use the point method to search for specific proteins that affect the body in zero gravity - this involves donating blood directly in orbit.