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Inhibited interferon-gamma but normal interleukin-3 production from rats flown on the space shuttle
C L Gould1, M Lyte, J Williams
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Louisiville, KY 40292.
Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
|October 1, 1987
Abstract:
Rats were flown on Space Shuttle SL-3 for 1 week. When spleen cells were removed from these rats and challenged with concanavalin-A, interferon-gamma production was severely inhibited, while interleukin-3 production was unaffected compared to ground-based control rats. These data indicate that there is a defect in interferon-gamma production in rats that have been exposed to spaceflight. This defect could contribute to, and be one reason for, immunosuppression observed after spaceflight.