The MESSAGE experiment, which carried out in Türkiye's first space mission, revealed exciting findings!
Significant progress has been made on the blood samples taken by Türkiye's first astronaut Alper Gezeravcı in a zero-gravity environment in space and delivered to the TRGENMER laboratory of Üsküdar University.
MESSAGE experiment Project Manager Asst. Prof. Cihan Taştan stated that the examinations of the samples brought from space revealed some exciting findings and stated that "Changes in the expression levels of certain genes, especially under microgravity conditions, can create significant differences in the behavior of immune system cells."
Director of Üsküdar University Transgenic Cell Technologies and Epigenetics Application and Research Center (TRGENMER) and Project Manager of MESSAGE (Microgravity Associated Genetics) experiment Asst. Prof. Cihan Taştan announced that significant progress has been made on the samples brought by Türkiye's first astronaut Alper Gezeravcı from the International Space Station (ISS).
Significant progress has been made on the samples
Informing about the latest development in the MESSAGE experiment, Asst. Prof. Cihan Taştan stated that "Significant progress has been made on the samples brought by Alper Gezeravcı from the International Space Station (ISS). Transcriptomic analyses of these samples collected under microgravity conditions have begun to reveal the effects of microgravity on human gene expression. Research is continuing to determine whether certain genes are up-regulated or down-regulated, and whether this leads to meaningful changes in the immune system. These findings suggest that microgravity is biological.
Atasever conducted the second round of the MESSAGE experiment...
Informing about the work of Tuva Cihangir Atasever, who is Türkiye's second astronaut to go to space, on the MESSAGE experiment during the space mission, Asst. Prof. Cihan Taştan stated that "Tuva Cihangir Atasever carried out the second round of the MESSAGE experiment during the space mission. This mission is a continuation of the experiment initiated by Alper Gezeravcı and aimed to deepen the previous findings. Atasever collected blood samples before and after the flight, and we will continue to examine the effects of microgravity conditions on gene expression with the transcriptomic analysis we are performing on these samples. We will also investigate the changes in the immune system, as well as the effects of these changes on cancer cells."
Examinations of the samples revealed some exciting findings
Informing about the MESSAGE experiment, Asst. Prof. Cihan Taştan continued his remarks as follows:
"Examinations of samples brought back from space have revealed some exciting findings. Changes in the expression levels of certain genes, especially under microgravity conditions, can create significant differences in the behavior of immune system cells. These findings could help us better understand the effects of space conditions on human health and develop new strategies to protect the health of astronauts during long-duration space missions in the future. Such findings could be a precursor of important innovations in both space biology and medicine."
Preliminary results will be presented in Milan in October
Asst. Prof. Cihan Taştan stated that "The preliminary results obtained within the scope of the MESSAGE science mission will be presented at the 75th Annual Summit to be held in Milan, Italy in October. It was accepted as an oral presentation at the 75th International Astronautical Congress."
The results of the experiment offer valuable information for health applications
Pointing out that long periods of time spent in space are associated with various stresses such as microgravity, high radiation and other environmental factors, Asst. Prof. Cihan Taştan stated that "I think that the MESSAGE experiment draws attention as a study that promises to open new horizons in space biology and medical research. I have no doubt that the results of this experiment will continue to provide valuable information for future space missions and health applications on Earth."
About the MESSAGE (Microgravity Associated Genetics) experiment
MESSAGE (Microgravity Associated Genetics) experiment. was developed by Üsküdar TRGENMER Researchers Büşra Tekirdağlı, Özge Demir, Ebru Çam, Fatmanur Male, Berranur Sert and Gamze Gülden under the leadership of Asst. Prof. Cihan Taştan.
The MESSAGE (Microgravity Associated Genetics) experiment, carried out by Asst. Prof. Cihan Tastan, aims to analyze the genetic profile of Turkish astronauts and to investigate the anti-cancer, proliferation and immunogenic effects of an acoustic levitation device that provides a microgravity environment. In this experiment, it is also aimed to detect genes function of which has not yet been discovered, which are affected by the zero-gravity environment. Moreover, which immune cells will be directly affected by gravity in space missions is being investigated with CRISPR genetic engineering methods.
Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)