Test of the antiorthostatic suspension model on mice: effects on the inflammatory cell response.

We tested the antiorthostatic suspension model for use as a 1G model to study the effects of factors that will be encountered during space travel on inflammation. We found no differences in inflammatory cells induced in antiorthostatically suspended mice. However, the superoxide response (used for oxidative killing of bacteria such as S. aureus) was impaired in antiorthostatically oriented mice compared to control mice. Elevated corticosterone levels were found in antiorthostatically suspended mice and indicate that stress may be a factor in the model. If the stress factor of the model correlates with the physiological stress of space flight, antiorthostatic suspension may be an acceptable model for studying inflammatory responses in mice.