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Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Exploring the Effects of Spaceflight on Mouse Physiology using the Open Access NASA GeneLab Platform
Published on: January 13, 2019
IL-6 and the dysregulation of immune, bone, muscle, and metabolic homeostasis during spaceflight
1Departments of Academic Affairs and Biomedical Sciences, James H. Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN USA.
Abstract:
We have previously reported that exercise-related secretion of IL-6 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells is proportionate to body weight, suggesting that IL-6 is gravisensitive and that suboptimal production of this key cytokine may contribute to homeostatic dysregulations that occur during spaceflight. This review details what is known about the role of this key cytokine in innate and adaptive immunity, hematopoiesis, and in bone, muscle and metabolic homeostasis on Earth and in the microgravity of space and suggests an experimental approach to confirm or disavow the role of IL-6 in space-related dysregulations.
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