Abstract
The effects of microgravity on functions of the human body are well described, including alterations in the male and female reproductive systems. In the present study, TCam-2 cells, which are considered a good model of mitotically active male germ cells, were used to investigate intracellular signalling and cell metabolism during exposure to simulated microgravity, a condition that affects cell shape and cytoskeletal architecture. After a 24 hour exposure to simulated microgravity, TCam-2 cells showed 1) a decreased proliferation rate and a delay in cell cycle progression, 2) increased anaerobic metabolism accompanied by increased levels of intracellular Ca2+, reactive oxygen species and superoxide anion and modifications in mitochondrial morphology. Interestingly, all these events were transient and were no longer evident after 48 hours of exposure. The presence of antioxidants prevented not only the effects described above but also the modifications in cytoskeletal architecture and the activation of the autophagy process induced by simulated microgravity. In conclusion, in the TCam-2 cell model, simulated microgravity activated the oxidative machinery, triggering transient macroscopic cell events, such as a reduction in the proliferation rate, changes in cytoskeleton-driven shape and autophagy activation.
Highlights
Over the last century, we have observed a sudden, ever-growing increase in the number of space flights for space exploration and the building/maintenance of satellites and space stations and for space tourism and commercial space flights
Values are presented as means ± SEM, n = 3. *p < 0.05 compared with the corresponding Ctr. (b) The proliferation rate is expressed as the percentage of live cells exposed to s-microgravity versus live control cells, which were set to 100%, at each time point (24 and 48 h)
TCam-2 cells were exposed to s-microgravity using a random positioning machine (RPM) for up to 48 hours, a time interval that was useful for observing acute effects and was coherent with cell cycle, which was approximately 24–36 hours for the cell density used in this experiment
Summary
We have observed a sudden, ever-growing increase in the number of space flights for space exploration and the building/maintenance of satellites and space stations and for space tourism and commercial space flights. The aim of the present study was to investigate intracellular signalling and cell metabolism in TCam-2 cells exposed to s-microgravity to depict the intracellular status related to macroscopic cellular changes (such as cell architecture and shape, cell proliferation and cell cycle changes) induced by the modification of extracellular gravitational forces. This model may be useful for identifying possible protective strategies
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