New HumanAWG-Project: How microbiome variations might impact drug responses

AWG Projects Human AWG Open Projects
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Dear AWG-Members,

I would like to share with you a summary of an ongoing project that was recently presented. It is a collaboration between BioAstra Crew-2 and members of the HumanAWG:

The Pharmacomicrobiomcis - Project explores variations in the human microbiome during spaceflight and the possible interactions with xenobiotics (foreign compounds, here medicines), which can significantly influence drug metabolism and therapeutic outcomes.

The project analyzes microbiome samples from the Inspiration4 flight, emphasizing their potential influence on the effectiveness of space-relevant medicines from the ISS Medical-Kit. Understanding these interactions is crucial for developing personalized medicine and predicting individual drug responses based on microbiome composition.

Project Plan and Objectives:

  1. Analysis and classification of the medicines contained in the ISS-Medical Kit according to active ingredient and route of administration, with the aim of generating a revised and appropriate medicine list for the Pharmacomicrobiomics-Project. The preferred focus is on gut microbes and oral/ parenteral medicines.
  2. Analysis of metagenomic and metatranscriptomic data (mainly OSD-572) will be utilized to investigate changes in microbial abundance.
  3. Linking the new medicine list with available interaction databases and the relevant microbes during the Inspiration-4 flight, followed by visualization and analysis of the results.Focusing on 1–2 medicines where the influence of microbes on effectiveness may be clinically relevant.
  4. Classification and description of the corresponding interaction mechanisms. Flagging these medicines for consideration in future spaceflights.
  5. To expand the available data pool, this study highlights the need for further research, including the analysis of more suitable microbiome samples during future space missions. Such efforts will be essential to better characterize microbe - drug interactions and to support the development of personalized medicine strategies that ensure astronaut safety.

The goal is to create a minimum viable paper that provides an inspirational foundation for further work by others from different AWG groups!

Interest to Join

To further strengthen and broaden the expertise within this project, additional collaborations are always welcome. In particular, microbiology (microbial metabolism), additional expertise in bioinformatics (metagenomics and transcriptomics, or some experience with pharmaceutical data), clinical gastroenterology, and biostatistics would be of great value. We also welcome contributions from experts beyond these fields who can bring new perspectives and help navigate the project toward a high-quality joint publication. :sparkles: :pill: :rocket:

For those interested in joining this exciting effort, feel free to reach out or join the next HumanAWG monthly meeting.

Project lead/ contact: @marina-stegmann

@HUMANawg , @MicrobesAWG

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This is awesome @marina-stegmann added some AWG members who would be interested in drug responses and microbiome (these are people who expressed interest in pharma when they joined the AWG):

@balbensi @keith.siew @mboerma @vandreza.bortolotto @Sheikhwasim @arallen @vhuma34 @dchander @Javier @sokcintye @Sami.tanveer @navyfiremedic610 @ankammal @Pharm_data7 @megsp85 @astropharmacist @Joseph @Maitha @sriram.susarla @BenWilson89

So the next step is make sure to attend the next Human AWG mtg? Sub-group tasks on data analysis, etc after that I assume?

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Thank you. I wrote about pharmacogenetics last year and how it can affect Astronauts in space and during long duration spaceflight to Mars.
-’ David Barckhoff navymedic610@yahoo.com
navyfiremedic610

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Please do share your paper. We have a section on this for one of our upcoming papers on Radiation immunity.

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Thanks for your support Ryan!!

Yes, the next Human AWG meeting will be a key step.
Before that, we’ll hold a short introductory session (planned on October 23) to walk everyone through the project framework, objectives, and planned workflow (it will be the presentation at the last project update). I’ll send out a separate invitation to all interested!

The Human AWG meeting will then serve as a follow-up touchpoint to harmonize inputs, address open questions, and align everyone’s perspectives. Including those who couldn’t attend the first session.

After that, we’ll begin with weekly meetings (preferably Thursdays at 9 pm CEST) to synchronize the first data-analysis steps, later shifting to a bi-weekly rhythm once the workflow is established.
I’m looking forward to bringing everyone together and moving this project forward! :orange_heart:

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That’s a very exciting topic!!
Pharmaceutical expertise is always welcome!!
We’re currently working on a similar topic at Crew-2. Maybe you’d like to reach out to @DLundine as well? :rocket:

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This sounds like a great project @marina-stegmann!

And thank you to @rtscott2001 for tagging me.

I’d love to get involved. I did some bioinformatics work whilst at university, and currently work in clinical trials, so have got some experience with pharmaceutical data.

I should be able to make the introductory session on 23 October.

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