Beyond Gravity: Leveraging Gene Plasticity to Mitigate Spaceflight‐Induced Pathologies

ABSTRACTAs space exploration becomes increasingly accessible, understanding the molecular and pathophysiological consequences of spaceflight on the human body becomes crucial. Space‐induced modifications could disrupt multiple signaling pathways, with significant implications for the functional integrity of cardiovascular, nervous, and musculoskeletal systems, among others. In a recent study, Bourdakou et al. have focused on alterations in gene expression profiles linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD), using human induced pluripotent stem cell‐derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC‐CMs) undergoing spaceflight and subsequent postflight conditions. Genes with known associations with CVD and nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2 (NRF2) oxidative stress regulatory network have been identified to present consistent directional expression changes in both spaceflight and postflight. A computational drug repurposing analysis identified ten candidate agents with the potential to reverse observed transcriptomic modifications in spaceflight‐exposed cardiomyocytes. These findings highlight the importance of molecular studies and emphasize the need for integrative, multi‐omic research efforts to protect human health during and beyond spaceflight.