A comprehensive transcriptome analysis of the livers of mice in microgravity.

This Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency project focused on elucidating the impacts of partial gravity (partial g) and microgravity (μg) on mice using newly developed mouse habitat cage units (HCU) that can be installed in the Centrifuge-equipped Biological Experiment Facility in the International Space Station. In the first mission, 12 C57BL/6 J male mice were housed under μg or artificial earth-gravity (1 g). After 35 days of habitation, all mice were returned to the Earth and processed. Here, we employed transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) to detect alterations in gene expression profiles in the liver tissues among the MG, AG and GC (ground control) mice.