Morphological and Phenotypical Characteristics of Human Osteoblasts after Short-Term Space Mission

Abstract

Morphological and phenotypical signs of cultured readaptation osteoblasts were studied after a short-term space mission. The ultrastructure and phenotype of human osteoblasts after Soyuz TMA-11 space flight (2007) were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, laser confocal microscopy, and ELISA. The morphofunctional changes in cell cultures persisted after 12 passages. Osteoblasts retained the drastic changes in their shape and size, contour deformation, disorganization of the microtubular network, redistribution of organelles and specialized structures of the plasmalemma in comparison with the ground control cells. On the other hand, the expression of osteoprotegerin and osteocalcin (bone metabolism markers) increased; the expression of bone resorption markers ICAM-1 and IL-6 also increased, while the expression of VCAM-1 decreased. Hence, space flight led to the development of persistent shifts in cultured osteoblasts indicating injuries to the cytoskeleton and the phenotype changes, indicating modulation of bone metabolism biomarkers.

Oral Tissue Responses to Travel in Space

“…The steady-state levels of osteocalcin mRNA in human fetal osteoblast cells after 17 days of microgravity did not differ from controls [87]. Osteocalcin protein expression was slightly but significantly increased in cultured human osteoblasts flown for 11 days [88]. The different results for osteocalcin expression may be due to the different cell types, different culture conditions, and different flight lengths.…”

The Effect of OSM on MC3T3-E1 Osteoblastic Cells in Simulated Microgravity with Radiation

“…Very little is known about the combined effects of microgravity and radiation on bone, as the vast majority of publications using ground-based models examine only one factor in isolation [ 3 , 29 , 30 ]. One potential mechanism suggested for the disruption of bone homeostasis in spaceflight includes disregulation of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) [ 31 – 34 ], where ground-based experiments have shown increased activity of this inflammatory pathway [ 26 , 28 , 35 ]. Similar alterations in inflammatory signals are also seen in disuse osteoporosis [ 8 – 10 ] and radiation exposure [ 36 – 38 ].…”