DNA DOUBLE STRAND BREAK REPAIR DURING HEAD-DOWN-TILT BEDREST: AGBRESA MEETS RADIATION

BACKGROUND Radiation and reduced gravity impose a major burden on health and performance during human spaceflight. While radiation increases cancer risk and limits tissue regeneration, reduced gravity predisposes to musculoskeletal and cardiovascular deconditioning. Deconditioning could conceivably limit the recovery from radiation damage. Our aim was to develop a terrestrial ex vivo model that could be utilized to study the effect of simulated reduced gravity using head-down-tilt bed-rest on repair of ionizing-radiation-induced DNA damage.