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Dietary nucleotides prevent decrease in cellular immunity in ground-based microgravity analogMicrogravity and stress of spaceflights result in immune dysfunction. The role of nutrition, especially nucleotide supplementation, has become an area of intensive research and significant interest in immunomodulation for maintenance of cellular immune responses. The studies presented here evaluate the plausibility of administering nucleotides to obviate immune dysfunction in an Earth-based in vivo analog of microgravity as studied in anti-orthostatic tail suspension (AOS) of mice. Mice were divided into three housing groups: group, isolation, and AOS. Mice were fed either control chow diet (CD), or RNA-, adenine-, or uracil-supplemented CD for the 1-wk duration of the experiments. In AOS mice, supplemental nucleotides significantly increased in vivo lymph node proliferation and ex vivo lymphoproliferation response to alloantigen and mitogens, respectively, and interleukin-2 and interferon-gamma production. A lower corticosterone level was observed in uracil-supplemented CD compared with CD. These results suggest that exogenous nucleotide supplementation, especially uracil, of normal diet is beneficial in the maintenance and restoration of the immune response during the microgravity analog conditions.
Document ID
20040088268
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Yamauchi, Keiko
(University of Texas Health Science Center Houston Texas 77030, United States)
Hales, Nathan W.
Robinson, Sandra M.
Niehoff, Michael L.
Ramesh, Vani
Pellis, Neal R.
Kulkarni, Anil D.
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
July 1, 2002
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985)
Volume: 93
Issue: 1
ISSN: 8750-7587
Subject Category
Aerospace Medicine
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
NASA Center JSC
NASA Discipline Cell Biology

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