Orbiting towards myopathy: new paradigms of muscle atrophy in spaceflight
Abstract Protracted exposure to microgravity during spaceflight imposes stress on the human body which disrupts physiological homeostasis. Skeletal muscles are among the most severely affected, and they are characterized by rapid muscle atrophy. Although basal autophagy maintains muscle integrity under normal physiological conditions, its dysregulation under microgravity may contribute to muscle loss. Our transcriptomics analysis suggests the possible involvement of alternative autophagy pathways as part of the adaptive response to microgravity.
Authors
- Subhadip Mukhopadhyay (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7025-8694)
- Fahika Nazeerulla
- Bharti Bisht (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3875-1251)
- Maryam Abdul Ajees (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5456-4316)
- Sophia Evangeline Aldrin
- Kankipati Sravya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5350-3984)
- Manash Kumar Paul
- B. S. Satish Rao
- J. K. Ajay Kumar
- Hardik Nalwa
- Shubhrajit Deb
- Diya Kaul
- G. Srinivas
- Shreya Shukla
- K. Rajasree Rathnakaran
Institutions
- Manipal Academy of Higher Education (IN)
- Amity University (IN)
- Kasturba Medical College, Manipal (IN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Microgravity
- Published
- 2026-10-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-026-00664-3
- Primary Topic
- Spaceflight effects on biology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00