PhD Defense | Eline Radstake | Unravelling the Interplay of Spaceflight Stressors on the in vitro Wound Healing Process
Name: Eline Radstake
Date:
December 9th, 2022
Location:
Azalea, room A.0.1
Campus Coupure Links 653
University of Ghent
9000 Ghent
Unravelling the Interplay of Spaceflight Stressors on the in vitro Wound Healing Process
In this work, an in vitro model of the simulated spaceflight environment has been developed and applied to investigate the wound healing process of dermal fibroblasts after exposure to simulated microgravity, ionizing radiation, and psychological stress. Besides, fibroblasts have been exposed to hypergravity and gravitational alterations between simulated microgravity and hypergravity, with or without stress hormones. After exposure to a combination of aforementioned simulated spaceflight stressors, fibroblast expression of cytokines and growth factors as well as dermal matrix proteins have been measured. Additionally, measures of migration capacity and cytoskeletal remodeling has been obtained as well. Finally, the effect of different radiation qualities on DNA damage and repair with or without the addition of stress hormones has been investigated. The results show that the wound healing capacity of dermal fibroblasts is sensitive for exposure to simulated spaceflight stressors. Moreover, the different spaceflight stressors can interfere with the wound healing process at any stage. Besides, several interaction effects between the different spaceflight stressors have been identified. Taken together, the insights of this work highlight the need of investigating combined effects of simulated spaceflight stressors on the wound healing capacity of the skin.
Promotor:
-
Sarah Baatout (UGENT)
SCK CEN mentors:
-
Bjorn Baselet (SCK CEN)
Click here for a list of obtained PhD degrees.