Spaceflight-linked kidney transcript signature in female mice across two ages
In female mice flown 55–58 days on the ISS, spaceflight was associated with a 7-gene kidney transcript signature found in both young and mature cohorts, linked to inflammation, tubular channelopathy and senescence. [1]
Automatic summary · not editorially reviewed
The key findings
Kidney mRNA from female C57BL/6NTac mice flown 55–58 days on the ISS was compared with matched ground controls in young (12-week) and mature (29-week) cohorts. [1]
Spaceflight was associated with a 7-gene signature: 6 upregulated and 1 downregulated transcript, with tight pairwise co-expression. [1]
A gene ontology analysis linked the signature to inflammation, tubular channelopathy and cellular senescence. [1]
The source at a glance
- Study type / format
- Abstract of a mouse kidney transcriptome study (bulk mRNA sequencing)
- Population / context
- Female C57BL/6NTac mice in young (12-week) and mature (29-week) cohorts, flown 55–58 days on the ISS versus matched ground controls.
- Summary based on
- Study abstract
- Publication status
- Preprint · peer-review status not confirmed
- Original publication
- September 29, 2026
Kidney RNA from flown versus ground-control female mice
The researchers used NASA GeneLab dataset OSD-771/GLDS-674 from Rodent Research Reference Mission-2. They sequenced bulk mRNA from kidney tissue of female C57BL/6NTac mice flown 55–58 days aboard the International Space Station and compared it with matched ground controls. The mice were evaluated in two separate cohorts: young (12-week) and mature (29-week).
Supporting source [1]
Seven-gene signature shared by both age cohorts
Differentially expressed genes were identified for each age group and also ranked by a composite score combining fold change and p-value. Genes meeting both significance and top-50 ranking criteria in both age groups formed the age-conserved signature. Spaceflight was associated with 7 genes: 6 upregulated transcripts (d630029k05rik, gm11992, hao2, igfbp1, aplnr, naaladl1) and 1 downregulated transcript (cry1), with tight pairwise co-expression (|r| = 0.80–0.96).
Supporting source [1]
Pathway links in an abstract-only mouse study
A gene ontology analysis linked this signature to three pathological axes: inflammation, tubular channelopathy and cellular senescence. These are associations in mice, not demonstrated causes of human kidney disease or lifespan effects. The abstract does not report sample sizes per cohort, full methods or whether the findings were confirmed in other datasets. Only the abstract was reviewed; the full text was not reviewed.
Supporting source [1]
How to interpret this
Abstract only; the full text was not reviewed. This is a mouse transcriptome study; the reported pathway links are associations, not established causes of human kidney disease. Sample sizes per cohort and independent confirmation are not reported in the abstract.
Based on the study abstract; the full paper, tables and supplementary data were not reviewed.
Source & supporting passages
Sakilam S, Cruz NJ, Nesta AV, Narayan P. · europepmc.org · September 29, 2026