Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: The effect of microgravity on skeletal muscles has so far been examined in rat and mice only after short-term (5-20 day) spaceflights. The mice drawer system (MDS) program, sponsored by Italian Space Agency, for the first time aimed to investigate the consequences of long-term (91 days) exposure to microgravity in mice within the International Space Station. Muscle atrophy was present indistinctly in all fiber types of the slow-twitch soleus muscle, but was only slightly greater than that observed after 20 days of spaceflight. Myosin heavy chain analysis indicated a concomitant slow-to-fast transition of soleus. In addition, spaceflight induced translocation of sarcolemmal nitric oxide synthase-1 (NOS1) into the cytosol in soleus but not in the fast-twitch extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle. Most of the sarcolemmal ion channel subunits were up-regulated, more in soleus than EDL, whereas Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channels were down-regulated, consistent with the phenotype transition. Gene expression of the atrophy-related ubiquitin-ligases was up-regulated in both spaceflown soleus and EDL muscles, whereas autophagy genes were in the control range. Muscle-specific IGF-1 and interleukin-6 were down-regulated in soleus but up-regulated in EDL. Also, various stress-related genes were up-regulated in spaceflown EDL, not in soleus. Altogether, these results suggest that EDL muscle may resist to microgravity-induced atrophy by activating compensatory and protective pathways. Our study shows the extended sensitivity of antigravity soleus muscle after prolonged exposition to microgravity, suggests possible mechanisms accounting for the resistance of EDL, and individuates some molecular targets for the development of countermeasures.
Source: PLoS ONE
Authors: Dorianna Sandonà, Jean-Francois Desaphy, Giulia M. Camerino, Elisa Bianchini, Stefano Ciciliot, Daniela Danieli-Betto, Gabriella Dobrowolny, Sandra Furlan, Elena Germinario, Katsumasa Goto, Martina Gutsmann, Fuminori Kawano, Naoya Nakai, Takashi Ohira, Yoshitaka Ohno, Anne Picard, Michele Salanova, Gudrun Schiffl, Dieter Blottner, Antonio Musarò, Yoshinobu Ohira, Romeo Betto, Diana Conte, Stefano Schiaffino
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology (medical)
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,382
Funders: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, National Institutes of Health, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Awards: Promotion of muscle activities as the countermeasure for prevention of the deterioration of brain function, G4249638525, The responses of tripartite motif-containing 72 to the changes in skeletal muscle mass of mice, Investigation on the usefulness of extracellular circulating microRNAs as a biomarker for the plasticity of skeletal muscle, Intercellular signaling network for the remodeling of skeletal muscle tissue in response to various extracellular stimuli -Application for sports sciences-, Molecular mechanisms for heat stress-associated skeletal muscle hypertrophy-a possible application of heat stress to sports sciences-
OpenAlex ID: W2090224335