Event: Horizons in Biosciences & Informatics Seminar Series (HBISS)
What: Non-coding RNA Trajectories in Spaceflight and Ageing Across Organs
When: Monday, May 18th, 9a PT; 12p ET; 6p CEST; 9:30p IST
Where: Microsoft Teams
Who: Andreas Keller, Saarland University and Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS)
Summary:
As human space exploration accelerates, understanding the organism-wide molecular effects of longer spaceflight in mammals becomes increasingly critical. Non-coding RNAs like miRNAs are key to regulating this landscape. This talk presents an analysis of 686 small RNA samples of female mice from 13 solid organs at 3 and 8 months of age, after at least 3 weeks on the International Space Station, compared to earth-bound controls. The work observes significant spaceflight effects in systemic tissue remodeling pathways along the Fat-Liver-Pancreas axis and in heart, brain, spleen and thymus. The MIR-17/92 and MIR-1/133 families drive distinct molecular changes through specific gene targeting. Age-dependent changes, smaller in magnitude compared to age-independent changes, primarily involve tissue remodeling through MIR-8, MIR-154 and MIR-15 families in mesenteric adipose tissue, pancreas, and diaphragm. The findings provide evidence on how spaceflight regulates mammalian gene expression in preparation for interplanetary spaceflight.
Biography:
Dr. Andreas Keller holds the Chair for Clinical Bioinformatics at Saarland University and heads the Department of Clinical Bioinformatics (CLIB) at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS). His group develops computational methods for non-coding RNA biology, with a focus on the regulatory roles of small RNAs across tissues and across the lifespan. From 2019 to 2021 he was a Visiting Professor at Stanford University, where his collaboration with the Wyss-Coray laboratory produced body-wide noncoding RNA atlases of aging and heterochronic parabiosis and identified miR-29c-3p as the most prominent miRNA restored by rejuvenation. His group’s most recent work extends this organism-wide framework to spaceflight.
About HBISS:
The purpose of HBISS is to foster interdisciplinary conversation, education, and collaboration. Experts in biosciences and informatics are invited to speak once a month and engage with members of the Open Science Data Repository’s Analysis Working Group (OSDR-AWG) and the public to facilitate discussion of cutting-edge research, techniques, and methodology. @AWGall
From March 2022 through February 2025, the HBISS series was designed exclusively for an internal NASA audience. Beginning in April 2025, the series was opened to the public and the broader OSDR-AWG community. To stay in the loop, join the AWG.
Questions? HBISS organizer is @rtscott2001