Endothelial dysfunction markers and immune response indices in cosmonauts’ blood after long-duration space flights

Space flight factors are known to cause a malfunction in the human immune system and lead to damage to blood vessels. The hemostatic function of endothelium during space missions and its interaction with human immunity has not been determined so far. In this work, we investigated the markers of endothelial activation and damage (plasma concentrations of soluble thrombomodulin fraction (sTM), von Willebrand factor (vWF), highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP)), as well as the level of D-dimer and compared them to the immunological parameters characterizing the state of human humoral and cellular immunity. The immune status of long-duration ISS crewmembers was assessed by whole-blood testing, and comprehensive postflight immune assessment included the analysis of leukocyte distribution. Flow cytometry was applied to determine the absolute counts and the percentage of lymphocyte subsets: B cells (CD19+), T cells (CD3+, CD3+CD4+, CD3+CD8+), NK cells (CD3-CD16+CD56+, CD11b+CD56+), and activated subsets (CD3+CD25+ and CD3+HLA-DR+). The in vitro basal cytokine production was investigated in whole blood cell culture. The cytokines IFN-gamma, IL-1-beta, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-18, and TNF-alpha were measured in plasma and the 24-h supernatants by a sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A significant increase in the plasma levels of vWF and hs-CRP and a decrease in the concentration of sTM after spaceflights were detected. Divergent changes in the parameters characterizing the state of the immune system were observed. We propose that the changes revealed may lead to an increase in the procoagulant activity of blood plasma, suppression of protein C activation and thrombin inhibition, as well as to an increase in the adhesive-aggregate potential of platelets, especially in case of changes in the rheological characteristics of blood flow during re-adaptation to ground conditions. We also speculate that the immune system might play an important role in vessel damage during long-duration missions.