1. Effects of Microgravity and Space Flight on Macrophages Stephen Keith Chapes Division of Biology, Kansas State University

2. Macrophages Respond to Microgravity in Seconds

3. Bone Marrow Macrophage Growth is Enhanced During Space Flight

4. Bone Marrow Macrophage Differentiation is Inhibited During Space Flight

5. Space Flight Enhances Macrophage Cytokine Secretion

6. B6MP102 Macrophage Cells Growing on Cytodex Beads

7. Cartoon of the Bioprocessing Units Used to Assess Macrophage Cytokine Secretion

8. Conclusions Macrophages respond to microgravity within 8 seconds. Space flight makes bone marrow cells proliferate faster but it slows the rate at which bone marrow cells differentiate into macrophages. Space flight increases the concentration of cytokines the macrophage cell line, B6MP102, secretes. THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT MACROPHAGES ARE AFFECTED BY MICROGRAVITY AND SPACE FLIGHT.

9. References Chapes, S.K., E.S. Didier and W.A.F. Tompkins. 1988. Macrophage cell line B6MP102 resembles peritoneal macrophages in tumor cell recognition and killing. J. Leukoc. Biol. 43:28 ‑ 35. Chapes, S.K., D.R. Morrison, J.A. Guikema, M.L. Lewis and B.S. Spooner. 1992. Cytokine secretion by immune cells in space. J. Leukoc. Biol. 52:104-110. Armstrong, J.W., R.A. Gerren and S.K. Chapes. 1995. The effect of space and parabolic flight on macrophage haematopoiesis and function. Exp. Cell Res. 216:160-168.