Biological Effects of Space Hypomagnetic Environment on Circadian Rhythm

Xunwen Xue; Yasser F Ali; Wanrong Luo; Caorui Liu; Guangming Zhou; Ning-Ang Liu

doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.643943

Biological Effects of Space Hypomagnetic Environment on Circadian Rhythm

Front Physiol. 2021 Mar 9:12:643943. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.643943. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Xunwen Xue^{1

2}, Yasser F Ali^{1

2

3}, Wanrong Luo^{1

2}, Caorui Liu^{1

2}, Guangming Zhou^{1

2}, Ning-Ang Liu^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, School of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiological Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
² Academy of Space Life Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
³ Biophysics lab, Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Egypt.

Abstract

The intrinsic earth magnetic field (geomagnetic field, GMF) provides an essential environmental condition for most living organisms to adapt the solar cycle by rhythmically synchronizing physiological and behavioral processes. However, hypomagnetic field (HMF) of outer space, the Moon, and the Mars differs much from GMF, which poses a critical problem to astronauts during long-term interplanetary missions. Multiple experimental works have been devoted to the HMF effects on circadian rhythm and found that HMF perturbs circadian rhythms and profoundly contributes to health problems such as sleep disorders, altered metabolic as well as neurological diseases. By systemizing the latest progress on interdisciplinary cooperation between magnetobiology and chronobiology, this review sheds light on the health effects of HMF on circadian rhythms by elaborating the underlying circadian clock machinery and molecular processes.

Keywords: chronobiology; circadian rhythm; cryptochrome; magnetoreception; space hypomagnetic field.

Publication types

Review