Nowacki Dorian, Klinger Francesca G, Mazur Grzegorz, De Felici Massimo
Department of Human Nutrition, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland.
Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy.
Adv Clin Exp Med. 2015 Sep-Oct;24(5):769-74. doi: 10.17219/acem/27920.
All known organisms develop and evolve in the presence of gravitational force, and it is evident that gravity has a significant influence on organism physiology and development. Microgravity is known to affect gene expression, enzyme activity, cytoskeleton organization, mitotic proliferation and intracellular signaling.
The aim of the present study was to study some aspects of the development in vitro of mouse embryonic testes in simulated microgravity.
Testes from mouse embryos (12.5-16.5 days post coitum, d.p.c.) were cultured in simulated microgravity and standard static culture conditions. The microgravity condition was provided by a Rotary Cell Culture System (RWV) bioreactor, an apparatus designated for 3D tissue and small organ cultures. After 48 h of the culture in the RWV, testis morphology and size was evaluated.
The first observation was that the culture in the RWV bioreactor had a beneficial effect on the testis growth and on the survival of germ cells in comparison to static 2D culture methods. Moreover, we found, that RWV culture caused disorganization the gonadal tissues, namely of the testis cords.
The results suggest that the maintenance of testis cord could be sensitive to microgravity. We hypothesize that while the effect on testis growth is due to a better nutrient and oxygen supply, the testis cord's disorganization might depend on the microgravity conditions simulated by the bioreactor. Considering the complexity of the processes involved in the formation of the testis cords and their dynamic changes during the embryo fetal period, further studies are needed to identify the causes of such effect.
所有已知生物都在重力作用下发育和进化，显然重力对生物体的生理和发育有重大影响。已知微重力会影响基因表达、酶活性、细胞骨架组织、有丝分裂增殖和细胞内信号传导。
本研究旨在探讨模拟微重力条件下小鼠胚胎睾丸体外发育的某些方面。
将小鼠胚胎（受孕后12.5 - 16.5天）的睾丸在模拟微重力和标准静态培养条件下培养。微重力条件由旋转细胞培养系统（RWV）生物反应器提供，该装置用于三维组织和小器官培养。在RWV中培养48小时后，评估睾丸的形态和大小。
首先观察到，与静态二维培养方法相比，在RWV生物反应器中培养对睾丸生长和生殖细胞存活有有益影响。此外，我们发现RWV培养导致性腺组织，即睾丸索结构紊乱。
结果表明睾丸索的维持可能对微重力敏感。我们推测，虽然对睾丸生长的影响是由于更好的营养和氧气供应，但睾丸索的紊乱可能取决于生物反应器模拟的微重力条件。考虑到睾丸索形成过程的复杂性及其在胚胎胎儿期的动态变化，需要进一步研究以确定这种影响的原因。
