This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: As space missions become longer and ambitions for deep-space travel grow, scientists are working to understand how life beyond Earth may affect every system in the human body. Two years after her initial study took flight, Begum Mathyk, MD, and collaborators are continuing to push the frontier of women's health in space, this time by examining how altered gravity may affect female biology.
In a first-of-its-kind study, a team led by Mathyk, a physician–scientist in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, set out to understand the impact of space travel on the vaginal microbiome. Published in Frontiers in Microbiology, the study demonstrated that parabolic flight can induce acute physiological stress and alter host microbiome interactions. Their work provides the first evidence that altered gravity and spaceflight-related stress can significantly affect the vaginal microbiome in women while having minimal effect on the oral microbiome.
"This study gives us an early indication that female biological systems respond differently to the unique conditions associated with space travel," Mathyk said. The vaginal microbiome plays an important role in women's health, helping support immune function and maintain healthy tissue. Disruption to its microbial balance brought on by extreme physiological or psychological stress has been linked to inflammation, an increased potential for infection and altered immune responses.
In conditions such as endometriosis, microbial dysbiosis is associated with chronic inflammation, altered immune responses and disease progression. "Over the past few decades, the clinical relevance of the vaginal microbiome has extended beyond its traditional associations with bacterial vaginosis or vulvovaginal candidiasis," Mathyk said. "It has also emerged as a noninvasive biomarker for gynecological disease detection, cancer, pregnancy and health monitoring." Despite its importance, changes to the vaginal microbiome have not yet been explored in space travel conditions—until now.
In the new study, four women of reproductive age participated in parabolic flights aboard a modified aircraft that simulates periods of microgravity and hypergravity similar to those experienced during space travel. Mathyk and her colleagues found that parabolic flight caused greater site-specific changes in the vaginal microbiome than in the oral microbiome. Participants also showed signs of increased physiological stress after spaceflight, including heightened cortisol levels and changes in their microbiomes.
The findings point to the need for further research to determine the potential scope of those changes. "These findings highlight the sensitivity of the vaginal microbial ecosystem to spaceflight stressors," Mathyk said. "They underscore the need for longitudinal and mechanistic studies to determine the persistence, clinical significance and potential health implications of these changes during longer-duration space missions." Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. d research that matter—daily or weekly.
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