Space travel by civilians alone has been successful, and space is becoming more familiar to humankind.On the other hand, it is necessary to understand the effects of the space environment on the human body, such as radiation and microgravity, in preparation for space advancement.Until now, physical examinations by astronauts have shown that blood pressure and bone thickness change with increasing and decreasing gravity, but the mechanism has not been clarified.

　The research group achieved the world's first space travel of transgenic mice in 2018, and is conducting analysis of mice that stayed for 31 days in the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo" of the International Space Station.This time, the research group focused on the fact that the kidneys are responsible for the regulation of blood pressure and bone mass, and analyzed the kidneys of mice returning from space travel.

　As a result, in the kidneys of these mice, the expression levels of genes involved in the regulation of blood pressure and bone mass were changed.In addition, lipids in blood were increased, and the expression of genes related to lipid metabolism was increased in the kidney.As a result, it is not necessary to resist gravity and maintain posture in outer space, so basic energy consumption is reduced, and the kidneys play a role in metabolizing and excreting excess lipids. Was suggested.

　From the results of this research, it became clear that the kidney plays an important role in space travel.It is said that the importance of managing renal function by checking the health condition of the kidney before traveling to space and adjusting the function of the kidney with drugs etc. was shown.

Paper information:[Kidney International] Gene expression changes related to bone mineralization, blood pressure and lipid metabolism in mouse kidneys after space travel