Mortreux Marie, Ko Frank C, Riveros Daniela, Bouxsein Mary L, Rutkove Seward B
1Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School - Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA USA.
2Department of Orthopedics, Center for Advanced Orthopaedic Studies, Harvard Medical School - Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA USA.
NPJ Microgravity. 2019 Aug 22;5:20. doi: 10.1038/s41526-019-0080-5. eCollection 2019.
In the near future, space agencies plan to send the first crews for extended stays on the Moon and Mars, where gravity is significantly reduced compared to Earth (0.16× and 0.38×, respectively). However, the long-term effects of partial gravity have not yet been elucidated, and ensuring astronauts' health and performance is crucial to the success of these missions. Using a quadrupedal partial weight-bearing (PWB) model in rats that we designed, we investigated the longitudinal time course of muscle function at three different PWB levels. We demonstrated that both muscle mass and muscle function are significantly impaired in reduced weight-bearing environments as early as after 7 days of suspension. Moreover, we showed that muscular alterations are correlated to the PWB level and do not reach a plateau during a 1-month exposure to reduced weight-bearing, emphasizing the need for mitigating countermeasures for safe and successful extraterrestrial exploration.
在不久的将来，太空机构计划派遣首批人员前往月球和火星进行长期驻留，与地球相比，那里的重力显著降低（分别为地球重力的0.16倍和0.38倍）。然而，部分重力的长期影响尚未阐明，确保宇航员的健康和工作表现对于这些任务的成功至关重要。我们使用自行设计的大鼠四足部分负重（PWB）模型，研究了三种不同PWB水平下肌肉功能的纵向时间进程。我们证明，早在悬吊7天后，在减轻负重的环境中肌肉质量和肌肉功能就会受到显著损害。此外，我们还表明，肌肉变化与PWB水平相关，并在1个月的减轻负重暴露期间未达到平台期，这突出了采取缓解对策以实现安全、成功的外星探索的必要性。
