Figure 7

P-p42/44 MAPK and tyrosine phosphorylation in T lymphocytes exposed to different gravity conditions measured by FACS-analysis. Non-activated and Concanavalin A (ConA)/CD28-activated CD4+ T lymphocytes were exposed to altered gravity. A and B. Samples were stained against P-p42/44 MAPK and analyzed by FACS; data are expressed as relative fluorescence intensity (RFI). A: Analysis of non-activated (−) T cells exposed to microgravity (μg) showed a significant reduction in RFI in μg samples compared to 1g on board reference samples (1g). B: In the analysis of ConA/CD28 activated (+) T lymphocytes a significant reduction of baseline (BL) samples was observed compared to hardware (H/W) samples. The RFIs of 1g samples and μg samples were not significantly different from BL samples or from each other. The medians and individual interquartile ranges are shown. (* p < 0.1, ** p < 0.05, ns = not significantly different, two-tailed Mann–Whitney-U-Test). C and D. Samples were stained against phospho-tyrosine (p-tyrosine) and analyzed by FACS; data are expressed as relative fluorescence intensity (RFI). C: Analysis of non-activated (−) T cells revealed no difference between microgravity (μg)-samples, on-board reference centrifuge (1g)-samples and hardware ground controls (H/W) in p-tyrosine stainings. D: In the analysis of ConA/CD28 activated (+) T lymphocytes p-tyrosine-staining was not significantly different between 1g and μg samples, but both sample types showed a higher staining than baseline (BL) samples. BL samples were significantly less stained than H/W samples. The medians and individual interquartile ranges are shown. (* p < 0.1, ** p < 0.05, ns = not significantly different, two-tailed Mann–Whitney-U-Test).