Comprehensive assessment of physiological responses in women during the ESA dry immersion VIVALDI microgravity simulation

Adrien Robin (1) , Angelique van Ombergen (2) , Claire Laurens (3) , Audrey Bergouignan (4, 5) , Laurence Vico (6) , Marie-Thérèse Linossier (6) , Anne Pavy-Le Traon (7) , Marc Kermorgant (3) , Angèle Chopard (8, 9) , Guillaume Py (9) , David Andrew Green (10) , Michael Tipton (11) , Alexander Choukér (12) , Pierre Denise (13) , Hervé Normand (14, 13, 15) , Stéphane Blanc (16) , Chantal Simon (17, 18) , Elisabeth Rosnet (19) , Françoise Larcher (20) , Peter Fernandez (21, 22) , Isabelle de Glisezinski (23, 22) , Dominique Larrouy (22) , Isabelle Harant-Farrugia (22) , Inês Antunes (24) , Guillemette Gauquelin-Koch (25) , Marie-Pierre Bareille (26) , Rebecca Billette de Villemeur (26) , Marc-Antoine Custaud (1) , Nastassia Navasiolava (1)

1 UA - Université d'Angers
2 ESA - Agence Spatiale Européenne = European Space Agency
3 UPS/Inserm U1297 - I2MC - Institut des Maladies Métaboliques et Casdiovasculaires
4 Centre for Human Nutrition
5 DEPE-IPHC - Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie
6 SAINBIOSE - Santé Ingénierie Biologie Saint-Etienne
7 MSA French Reference Center, Univ. Hospital Toulouse, Toulouse,
8 UM - Université de Montpellier
9 DMEM - Dynamique Musculaire et Métabolisme
10 Imperial College London
11 University of Portsmouth
12 LMU - Ludwig Maximilian University [Munich] = Ludwig Maximilians Universität München
13 COMETE - Mobilités : Vieillissement, Pathologie, Santé
14 CHU Caen
15 Cyceron - GIP Cyceron
16 IPHC - Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien
17 CarMeN - Cardiovasculaire, métabolisme, diabétologie et nutrition
18 CRNH-RA - Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine Rhône-Alpes
19 PSMS - Performance, Santé, Métrologie, Société - EA 7507
20 CHU Angers - Centre Hospitalier Universitaire d'Angers
21 UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne
22 INSERM - Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale
23 CIC 1436 - Centre d'investigation clinique de Toulouse
24 Telespazio
25 CNES - Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris]
26 MEDES - Institut de Médecine et de Physiologie Spatiales

Astronauts in microgravity experience multi-system deconditioning, impacting their inflight efficiency and inducing dysfunctions upon return to Earth gravity. To fill the sex gap of knowledge in the health impact of spaceflights, we simulate microgravity with a 5-day dry immersion in 18 healthy women (Clin-icalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05043974). Here we show that dry immersion rapidly induces a sedentarily-like metabolism shift mimicking the beginning of a metabolic syndrome with a drop in glucose tolerance, an increase in the atherogenic index of plasma, and an impaired lipid profile. Bone remodeling markers suggest a decreased bone formation coupled with an increased bone resorption. Fluid shifts and muscular unloading participate to a marked cardiovascular and sensorimotor deconditioning with decreased orthostatic tolerance, aerobic capacity, and postural balance. Collected datasets provide a comprehensive multi-systemic assessment of dry immersion effects in women and pave the way for future sex-based evaluations of countermeasures.

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]

Adrien Robin, Angelique van Ombergen, Claire Laurens, Audrey Bergouignan, Laurence Vico, et al.. Comprehensive assessment of physiological responses in women during the ESA dry immersion VIVALDI microgravity simulation. Nature Communications, 2023, 14 (1), pp.6311. ⟨10.1038/s41467-023-41990-4⟩. ⟨hal-04482295⟩