Excellent Thermal Control Ability of Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) for Ground-Based Experiments and Experiments Onboard the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module of International Space Station

Yano, Sachiko; Masuda, Daisuke; Kasahara, Haruo; Omori, Keisuke; Higashibata, Akira; Asashima, Makoto; Ohnishi, Takeo; Yatagai, Fumio; Kamisaka, Seiichiro; Furusawa, Toshiharu; Higashitani, Akihiro; Majima, Hideyuki J.; Nikawa, Takeshi; Wakabayashi, Kazuyuki; Takahashi, Hideyuki; Suzuki, Hiromi; Shimazu, Toru; Fukui, Keiji; Hattori, Atsuhiko; Tanigaki, Fumiaki; Shimizu, Masaki; Nakamura, Tai; Yoshimura, Yoshinori; Suzuki, Nobuo; Ishioka, Noriaki

doi:10.2187/bss.26.12

Cited by 17 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…After arrival at Japan's space laboratory (KIBO) at the International Space Station (ISS), one 96‐well plate was frozen at −95°C as a launch control for enzyme activity analysis. Before incubation, the other 96‐well plates and the culture chambers were kept at 4°C and then incubated for 86 hours at 22°C in in‐flight microgravity (F‐μg) or in‐flight artificial 1 gravity (F‐1g) at the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (Videos and ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Melatonin is a potential drug for the prevention of bone loss during space flight

Ikegame

Hattori

Tabata

et al. 2019

Journal of Pineal Research

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Astronauts experience osteoporosis‐like loss of bone mass because of microgravity conditions during space flight. To prevent bone loss, they need a riskless and antiresorptive drug. Melatonin is reported to suppress osteoclast function. However, no studies have examined the effects of melatonin on bone metabolism under microgravity conditions. We used goldfish scales as a bone model of coexisting osteoclasts and osteoblasts and demonstrated that mRNA expression level of acetylserotonin O‐methyltransferase, an enzyme essential for melatonin synthesis, decreased significantly under microgravity. During space flight, microgravity stimulated osteoclastic activity and significantly increased gene expression for osteoclast differentiation and activation. Melatonin treatment significantly stimulated Calcitonin (an osteoclast‐inhibiting hormone) mRNA expression and decreased the mRNA expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (a promoter of osteoclastogenesis), which coincided with suppressed gene expression levels for osteoclast functions. This is the first study to report the inhibitory effect of melatonin on osteoclastic activation by microgravity. We also observed a novel action pathway of melatonin on osteoclasts via an increase in CALCITONIN secretion. Melatonin could be the source of a potential novel drug to prevent bone loss during space flight.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Melatonin is a potential drug for the prevention of bone loss during space flight

Ikegame

Hattori

Tabata

et al. 2019

Journal of Pineal Research

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“…Twelve days after the launch, the MEUs were removed and transferred to the CBEF of the Kibo Module. The CBEF is an incubator with two compartments: a microgravity part and an artificial gravity part, in which a centrifuge produces 1 g conditions [ 25 ]. The CBEF has been shown to regulate thermal environment accurately and has already been used in space experiments on the ISS [ 25 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The CBEF is an incubator with two compartments: a microgravity part and an artificial gravity part, in which a centrifuge produces 1 g conditions [ 25 ]. The CBEF has been shown to regulate thermal environment accurately and has already been used in space experiments on the ISS [ 25 ]. Two MEUs were placed in the microgravity compartment of the CBEF (microgravity conditions) and two were attached to the centrifuge in the artificial gravity compartment, which was rotated to produce acceleration at 1 g (artificial 1 g conditions) ( S1 Fig ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suppression of Hydroxycinnamate Network Formation in Cell Walls of Rice Shoots Grown under Microgravity Conditions in Space

et al. 2015

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Network structures created by hydroxycinnamate cross-links within the cell wall architecture of gramineous plants make the cell wall resistant to the gravitational force of the earth. In this study, the effects of microgravity on the formation of cell wall-bound hydroxycinnamates were examined using etiolated rice shoots simultaneously grown under artificial 1 g and microgravity conditions in the Cell Biology Experiment Facility on the International Space Station. Measurement of the mechanical properties of cell walls showed that shoot cell walls became stiff during the growth period and that microgravity suppressed this stiffening. Amounts of cell wall polysaccharides, cell wall-bound phenolic acids, and lignin in rice shoots increased as the shoot grew. Microgravity did not influence changes in the amounts of cell wall polysaccharides or phenolic acid monomers such as ferulic acid (FA) and p-coumaric acid, but it suppressed increases in diferulic acid (DFA) isomers and lignin. Activities of the enzymes phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and cell wall-bound peroxidase (CW-PRX) in shoots also increased as the shoot grew. PAL activity in microgravity-grown shoots was almost comparable to that in artificial 1 g-grown shoots, while CW-PRX activity increased less in microgravity-grown shoots than in artificial 1 g-grown shoots. Furthermore, the increases in expression levels of some class III peroxidase genes were reduced under microgravity conditions. These results suggest that a microgravity environment modifies the expression levels of certain class III peroxidase genes in rice shoots, that the resultant reduction of CW-PRX activity may be involved in suppressing DFA formation and lignin polymerization, and that this suppression may cause a decrease in cross-linkages within the cell wall architecture. The reduction in intra-network structures may contribute to keeping the cell wall loose under microgravity conditions.

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“…One of the startup culture (mixed L1 worms) after injection into food bag was kept in 1G condition and the other one was kept in μG condition. These were then cultured separately in a cell biology experiment facility (CBEF) (Yano et al, 2012) for 4 days at 20°C. After culturing, worms were chemically fixed with Chemical Fixation Apparatus (CFA, PCFFM10001, CHIYODA) and stored at 2°C after 4 days of culturing on 22 nd April, 2015.…”

Section: Onboard Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nematode Muscles Project in Spaceflight Experiment

et al. 2018

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Our previous spaceflight experiment CERISE showed that gene and protein expression levels of muscular components, cytoskeleton, and mitochondrial enzymes are altered in space flown wild-type C. elegans. To confirm and clarify whether the C. elegans muscle fibers and mitochondrial network are physically altered in response to microgravity, this Nematode Muscles project was designed with wild-type and several mutant lines with GFP expression. This investigation also studied whether microgravity could affect the insulin/ IGF-1 (Insulin-like growth factor -1) and/or TGF-β signaling by imaging DAF-16::GFP fusion protein. Wild-type and several mutants were grown in a culture bag kept under microgravity or 1G centrifuge conditions on board ISS for 4 days starting from L1 larva. All samples were fixed on board and recovered, to be analyzed on the earth. The worms did not grow well in the μG culture bag probably due to unexpected air bubbles. Therefore, DAF-16 activation observed in larval worms in μG and not in 1G may be attributed to starvation instead of μG response. In 1G samples, we could successfully find normal mitochondrial network. We also found that chemical fixation using CFA is an effective method for preservation of GFP containing C. elegans in space environment.

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Excellent Thermal Control Ability of Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) for Ground-Based Experiments and Experiments Onboard the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module of International Space Station

Cited by 17 publications

References 3 publications

Melatonin is a potential drug for the prevention of bone loss during space flight

Melatonin is a potential drug for the prevention of bone loss during space flight

Suppression of Hydroxycinnamate Network Formation in Cell Walls of Rice Shoots Grown under Microgravity Conditions in Space

Nematode Muscles Project in Spaceflight Experiment

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