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SPEGIS: Streptococcus pneumoniae Gene Expression and Virulence Potential in the Space Environment.   2D.W. Niesel, 2N. Williams, 2U. Pandya, 1J. Rask, 1A. Kakavand, 1M. Kirven-Brooks, 3R. Aquilina.

1Lockheed Martin Space Operations, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA  2Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX.  3NASA Ames Research Center, Life Sciences Division, Moffett Field, CA

   The environment aboard manned spacecraft promotes the transmission of normal microbial flora and potentially opportunistic pathogens due to microgravity and confined living and working spaces.  Spaceflight has also been shown to blunt cellular immune mechanisms in animals and astronauts.  As human-spaceflight missions increase in duration, such as on the International Space Station and with the proposed return of humans to the Moon and possibly to Mars, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the effects of spaceflight on common opportunistic bacterial pathogens such as Streptococcus pneumoniae.  

   Currently, NASA Ames Research Center and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) are cooperatively developing the space biology experiment - SPEGIS. In this experiment, S. pneumoniae will be launched in vials that are contained within canisters aboard the Space Shuttle at 4˚C +/-2 ˚C.  While in orbit, the cultures will be activated by transferring the canisters from cold stowage to 37˚C +/-1 ˚C. Following incubation, the cultures will be terminated by transferring the canisters to a freezer.  Upon landing, the flight samples will be recovered and shipped to UTMB for global gene and protein expression analyses.  The results from flight cultures will be compared to cultures grown in static ground controls and also to cultures grown in low shear modeled microgravity controls.  The effect of spaceflight on S. pneumoniae virulence in mice and in cell culture models will also be evaluated.  These results will lead to a rationale risk assessment for this and other opportunistic pathogens during spaceflight.  Supported by 98-HEDS-02-291 to DWN