Evaluating the Long-term Effect of Space Radiation on the Reproductive Normality of Mammalian Sperm Preserved on the International Space Station

Overview

Journal Sci Adv

Specialties Biology
Science

Date 2021 Jun 12

PMID 34117068

Citations 17

Authors

Sayaka Wakayama

Daiyu Ito

Yuko Kamada

Toru Shimazu

Tomomi Suzuki

Aiko Nagamatsu

Ryoko Araki

Takahiro Ishikawa

Satoshi Kamimura

Naoki Hirose

Kousuke Kazama

Li Yang

Rei Inoue

Yasuyuki Kikuchi

Erika Hayashi

Rina Emura

Ren Watanabe

Hiroaki Nagatomo

Hiromi Suzuki

Tohru Yamamori

Motoki N Tada

Ikuko Osada

Masumi Umehara

Hiromi Sano

Haruo Kasahara

Akira Higashibata

Sachiko Yano

Masumi Abe

Satoshi Kishigami

Takashi Kohda

Masatoshi Ooga

Teruhiko Wakayama

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Space radiation may cause DNA damage to cells and concern for the inheritance of mutations in offspring after deep space exploration. However, there is no way to study the long-term effects of space radiation using biological materials. Here, we developed a method to evaluate the biological effect of space radiation and examined the reproductive potential of mouse freeze-dried spermatozoa stored on the International Space Station (ISS) for the longest period in biological research. The space radiation did not affect sperm DNA or fertility after preservation on ISS, and many genetically normal offspring were obtained without reducing the success rate compared to the ground-preserved control. The results of ground x-ray experiments showed that sperm can be stored for more than 200 years in space. These results suggest that the effect of deep space radiation on mammalian reproduction can be evaluated using spermatozoa, even without being monitored by astronauts in Gateway.

Citing Articles

Extracting and analyzing micronuclei from mouse two-cell embryos fertilized with freeze-dried spermatozoa.

Shibasaki I, Sugiyama H, Kamada Y, Nagatomo H, Ito D, Wakayama S Commun Biol. 2025; 8(1):6.

PMID: 39789115 PMC: 11718296. DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-07358-0.

Can Humanity Thrive Beyond the Galaxy?.

Wakayama S, Wakayama T J Reprod Dev. 2025; 71(1):10-16.

PMID: 39756865 PMC: 11808306. DOI: 10.1262/jrd.2024-099.

Method for long-term room temperature storage of mouse freeze-dried sperm.

Kamada Y, Yamaji K, Ushigome N, Ito D, Wakayama S, Hiraoka K Sci Rep. 2025; 15(1):303.

PMID: 39747170 PMC: 11695616. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-83350-2.

Transcriptomic analysis of embryonic mouse hypothalamic N38 cells exposed to high-energy protons and/or simulated microgravity.

Suwanprakorn N, Shin K, Tran P, Truong N, Kim K, Yoo H Heliyon. 2024; 10(20):e39533.

PMID: 39506968 PMC: 11538749. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e39533.

Beyond Earth's bounds: navigating the frontiers of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) in space.

Chaplia O, Mathyk B, Nichols-Burns S, Basar M, Halicigil C Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2024; 22(1):123.

PMID: 39394617 PMC: 11468284. DOI: 10.1186/s12958-024-01290-y.

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