Cargando…

Galactic Cosmic Irradiation Alters Acute and Delayed Species-Typical Behavior in Male and Female Mice

Exposure to space galactic cosmic radiation is a principal consideration for deep space missions. While the effects of space irradiation on the nervous system are not fully known, studies in animal models have shown that exposure to ionizing radiation can cause neuronal damage and lead to downstream...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Puukila, Stephanie, Siu, Olivia, Rubinstein, Linda, Tahimic, Candice G. T., Lowe, Moniece, Tabares Ruiz, Steffy, Korostenskij, Ivan, Semel, Maya, Iyer, Janani, Mhatre, Siddhita D., Shirazi-Fard, Yasaman, Alwood, Joshua S., Paul, Amber M., Ronca, April E.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10223209/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37240858
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life13051214
_version_ 1785049886842945536
author Puukila, Stephanie
Siu, Olivia
Rubinstein, Linda
Tahimic, Candice G. T.
Lowe, Moniece
Tabares Ruiz, Steffy
Korostenskij, Ivan
Semel, Maya
Iyer, Janani
Mhatre, Siddhita D.
Shirazi-Fard, Yasaman
Alwood, Joshua S.
Paul, Amber M.
Ronca, April E.
author_facet Puukila, Stephanie
Siu, Olivia
Rubinstein, Linda
Tahimic, Candice G. T.
Lowe, Moniece
Tabares Ruiz, Steffy
Korostenskij, Ivan
Semel, Maya
Iyer, Janani
Mhatre, Siddhita D.
Shirazi-Fard, Yasaman
Alwood, Joshua S.
Paul, Amber M.
Ronca, April E.
author_sort Puukila, Stephanie
collection PubMed
description Exposure to space galactic cosmic radiation is a principal consideration for deep space missions. While the effects of space irradiation on the nervous system are not fully known, studies in animal models have shown that exposure to ionizing radiation can cause neuronal damage and lead to downstream cognitive and behavioral deficits. Cognitive health implications put humans and missions at risk, and with the upcoming Artemis missions in which female crew will play a major role, advance critical analysis of the neurological and performance responses of male and female rodents to space radiation is vital. Here, we tested the hypothesis that simulated Galactic Cosmic Radiation (GCRSim) exposure disrupts species-typical behavior in mice, including burrowing, rearing, grooming, and nest-building that depend upon hippocampal and medial prefrontal cortex circuitry. Behavior comprises a remarkably well-integrated representation of the biology of the whole animal that informs overall neural and physiological status, revealing functional impairment. We conducted a systematic dose-response analysis of mature (6-month-old) male and female mice exposed to either 5, 15, or 50 cGy 5-ion GCRSim (H, Si, He, O, Fe) at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL). Behavioral performance was evaluated at 72 h (acute) and 91-days (delayed) postradiation exposure. Specifically, species-typical behavior patterns comprising burrowing, rearing, and grooming as well as nest building were analyzed. A Neuroscore test battery (spontaneous activity, proprioception, vibrissae touch, limb symmetry, lateral turning, forelimb outstretching, and climbing) was performed at the acute timepoint to investigate early sensorimotor deficits postirradiation exposure. Nest construction, a measure of neurological and organizational function in rodents, was evaluated using a five-stage Likert scale ‘Deacon’ score that ranged from 1 (a low score where the Nestlet is untouched) to 5 (a high score where the Nestlet is completely shredded and shaped into a nest). Differential acute responses were observed in females relative to males with respect to species-typical behavior following 15 cGy exposure while delayed responses were observed in female grooming following 50 cGy exposure. Significant sex differences were observed at both timepoints in nest building. No deficits in sensorimotor behavior were observed via the Neuroscore. This study revealed subtle, sexually dimorphic GCRSim exposure effects on mouse behavior. Our analysis provides a clearer understanding of GCR dose effects on species typical, sensorimotor and organizational behaviors at acute and delayed timeframes postirradiation, thereby setting the stage for the identification of underlying cellular and molecular events.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-10223209
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2023
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-102232092023-05-28 Galactic Cosmic Irradiation Alters Acute and Delayed Species-Typical Behavior in Male and Female Mice Puukila, Stephanie Siu, Olivia Rubinstein, Linda Tahimic, Candice G. T. Lowe, Moniece Tabares Ruiz, Steffy Korostenskij, Ivan Semel, Maya Iyer, Janani Mhatre, Siddhita D. Shirazi-Fard, Yasaman Alwood, Joshua S. Paul, Amber M. Ronca, April E. Life (Basel) Article Exposure to space galactic cosmic radiation is a principal consideration for deep space missions. While the effects of space irradiation on the nervous system are not fully known, studies in animal models have shown that exposure to ionizing radiation can cause neuronal damage and lead to downstream cognitive and behavioral deficits. Cognitive health implications put humans and missions at risk, and with the upcoming Artemis missions in which female crew will play a major role, advance critical analysis of the neurological and performance responses of male and female rodents to space radiation is vital. Here, we tested the hypothesis that simulated Galactic Cosmic Radiation (GCRSim) exposure disrupts species-typical behavior in mice, including burrowing, rearing, grooming, and nest-building that depend upon hippocampal and medial prefrontal cortex circuitry. Behavior comprises a remarkably well-integrated representation of the biology of the whole animal that informs overall neural and physiological status, revealing functional impairment. We conducted a systematic dose-response analysis of mature (6-month-old) male and female mice exposed to either 5, 15, or 50 cGy 5-ion GCRSim (H, Si, He, O, Fe) at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL). Behavioral performance was evaluated at 72 h (acute) and 91-days (delayed) postradiation exposure. Specifically, species-typical behavior patterns comprising burrowing, rearing, and grooming as well as nest building were analyzed. A Neuroscore test battery (spontaneous activity, proprioception, vibrissae touch, limb symmetry, lateral turning, forelimb outstretching, and climbing) was performed at the acute timepoint to investigate early sensorimotor deficits postirradiation exposure. Nest construction, a measure of neurological and organizational function in rodents, was evaluated using a five-stage Likert scale ‘Deacon’ score that ranged from 1 (a low score where the Nestlet is untouched) to 5 (a high score where the Nestlet is completely shredded and shaped into a nest). Differential acute responses were observed in females relative to males with respect to species-typical behavior following 15 cGy exposure while delayed responses were observed in female grooming following 50 cGy exposure. Significant sex differences were observed at both timepoints in nest building. No deficits in sensorimotor behavior were observed via the Neuroscore. This study revealed subtle, sexually dimorphic GCRSim exposure effects on mouse behavior. Our analysis provides a clearer understanding of GCR dose effects on species typical, sensorimotor and organizational behaviors at acute and delayed timeframes postirradiation, thereby setting the stage for the identification of underlying cellular and molecular events. MDPI 2023-05-19 /pmc/articles/PMC10223209/ /pubmed/37240858 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life13051214 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Puukila, Stephanie
Siu, Olivia
Rubinstein, Linda
Tahimic, Candice G. T.
Lowe, Moniece
Tabares Ruiz, Steffy
Korostenskij, Ivan
Semel, Maya
Iyer, Janani
Mhatre, Siddhita D.
Shirazi-Fard, Yasaman
Alwood, Joshua S.
Paul, Amber M.
Ronca, April E.
Galactic Cosmic Irradiation Alters Acute and Delayed Species-Typical Behavior in Male and Female Mice
title Galactic Cosmic Irradiation Alters Acute and Delayed Species-Typical Behavior in Male and Female Mice
title_full Galactic Cosmic Irradiation Alters Acute and Delayed Species-Typical Behavior in Male and Female Mice
title_fullStr Galactic Cosmic Irradiation Alters Acute and Delayed Species-Typical Behavior in Male and Female Mice
title_full_unstemmed Galactic Cosmic Irradiation Alters Acute and Delayed Species-Typical Behavior in Male and Female Mice
title_short Galactic Cosmic Irradiation Alters Acute and Delayed Species-Typical Behavior in Male and Female Mice
title_sort galactic cosmic irradiation alters acute and delayed species-typical behavior in male and female mice
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10223209/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37240858
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life13051214
work_keys_str_mv AT puukilastephanie galacticcosmicirradiationaltersacuteanddelayedspeciestypicalbehaviorinmaleandfemalemice
AT siuolivia galacticcosmicirradiationaltersacuteanddelayedspeciestypicalbehaviorinmaleandfemalemice
AT rubinsteinlinda galacticcosmicirradiationaltersacuteanddelayedspeciestypicalbehaviorinmaleandfemalemice
AT tahimiccandicegt galacticcosmicirradiationaltersacuteanddelayedspeciestypicalbehaviorinmaleandfemalemice
AT lowemoniece galacticcosmicirradiationaltersacuteanddelayedspeciestypicalbehaviorinmaleandfemalemice
AT tabaresruizsteffy galacticcosmicirradiationaltersacuteanddelayedspeciestypicalbehaviorinmaleandfemalemice
AT korostenskijivan galacticcosmicirradiationaltersacuteanddelayedspeciestypicalbehaviorinmaleandfemalemice
AT semelmaya galacticcosmicirradiationaltersacuteanddelayedspeciestypicalbehaviorinmaleandfemalemice
AT iyerjanani galacticcosmicirradiationaltersacuteanddelayedspeciestypicalbehaviorinmaleandfemalemice
AT mhatresiddhitad galacticcosmicirradiationaltersacuteanddelayedspeciestypicalbehaviorinmaleandfemalemice
AT shirazifardyasaman galacticcosmicirradiationaltersacuteanddelayedspeciestypicalbehaviorinmaleandfemalemice
AT alwoodjoshuas galacticcosmicirradiationaltersacuteanddelayedspeciestypicalbehaviorinmaleandfemalemice
AT paulamberm galacticcosmicirradiationaltersacuteanddelayedspeciestypicalbehaviorinmaleandfemalemice
AT roncaaprile galacticcosmicirradiationaltersacuteanddelayedspeciestypicalbehaviorinmaleandfemalemice