Home › Research › Disease mechanisms
Convergent Mitochondrial and Oxidative Stress Signatures in Spaceflight and Tauopathy: A Comparative Multi-Omics Reanalysis in Drosophila melanogaster
Navarro M, Aquino J, Shi K, Lin H, Monfared V, Garcia JC, Seylani A, Komędera M et al.. bioRxiv, 2026-10-19
Topic: Gut, metabolism and diet
Mitochondrial dysfunction is a shared biological thread between terrestrial Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and in the unique stress environment of spaceflight, making mitochondrial pathophysiology a compelling target for comparative investigation. In AD, mitochondrial impairment is closely linked to defective oxidative phosphorylation, reactive oxygen species accumulation, calcium dysregulation, and neuronal injury, while spaceflight stressors such as microgravity and radiation disrupt mitochondrial homeostasis and increase oxidative stress. Understanding how the extreme stressors of spacelight affect mitochondrial function may provide insights into conserved mitochondrial stress responses and their implications for neurodegenerative diseases, including AD. Our study compares datasets from ground control Drosophila melanogaster RNA-seq with isolated radiation and microgravity exposure to discern conserved mitochondrial pathways and molecular signatures that may provide insights into AD mechanisms. Highlights Progressive mitochondrial upregulation observed from Earth to microgravity Tauopathy showed opposing downregulation of mitochondrial pathways Shared ETC and ATP synthesis pathways connect microgravity and Tauopathy Radiation induced minimal transcriptomic changes in spaceflight datasets Mitochondrial upregulation may reflect compensation in response to microgravity
Key findings
- Mitochondrial dysfunction is a shared biological thread between terrestrial Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and in the unique stress environment of spaceflight, making mitochondrial pathophysiology a compelling target for comparative investigation.
- In AD, mitochondrial impairment is closely linked to defective oxidative phosphorylation, reactive oxygen species accumulation, calcium dysregulation, and neuronal injury, while spaceflight stressors such as microgravity and radiation disrupt mitochondrial homeostasis and increase oxidative stress.
- Understanding how the extreme stressors of spacelight affect mitochondrial function may provide insights into conserved mitochondrial stress responses and their implications for neurodegenerative diseases, including AD.
- Our study compares datasets from ground control Drosophila melanogaster RNA-seq with isolated radiation and microgravity exposure to discern conserved mitochondrial pathways and molecular signatures that may provide insights into AD mechanisms.
- Highlights Progressive mitochondrial upregulation observed from Earth to microgravity Tauopathy showed opposing downregulation of mitochondrial pathways Shared ETC and ATP synthesis pathways connect microgravity and Tauopathy Radiation induced minimal transcriptomic changes in spaceflight datasets Mitochondrial upregulation may reflect compensation in response to microgravity
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 21 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 13 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 21 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (bioRxiv) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Laboratory or animal study (title names “drosophila”) — scores zero |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 13 / 62 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 13 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 21 out of 100. |
| Total | 21 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Free copy unknown: no free-copy check has an answer for this record yet. That does not mean it is paywalled.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Navarro, M., Aquino, J., Shi, K., Lin, H., Monfared, V., Garcia, J. C., et al. (2026). Convergent Mitochondrial and Oxidative Stress Signatures in Spaceflight and Tauopathy: A Comparative Multi-Omics Reanalysis in Drosophila melanogaster. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.16.759726
Vancouver
Navarro M, Aquino J, Shi K, Lin H, Monfared V, Garcia JC, et al. Convergent Mitochondrial and Oxidative Stress Signatures in Spaceflight and Tauopathy: A Comparative Multi-Omics Reanalysis in Drosophila melanogaster. bioRxiv. 2026. doi:10.64898/2026.10.16.759726.
BibTeX
@article{navarro2026-b65d2812,
author = {Navarro, M. and Aquino, J. and Shi, K. and Lin, H. and Monfared, V. and Garcia, J. C. and Seylani, A. and Komędera, M. and others},
title = {{Convergent Mitochondrial and Oxidative Stress Signatures in Spaceflight and Tauopathy: A Comparative Multi-Omics Reanalysis in Drosophila melanogaster}},
journal = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.16.759726},
url = {https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.16.759726}
}
Related studies in Disease mechanisms
Also tagged “mitochondrial”
275 studies in the library carry the topic tag “mitochondrial”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 275 tagged studies.