Department of General Surgery, Chinese PLA Strategic Support Force Characteristic Medical Center, Beijing 100101, China; Department of General Surgery, the 306th Hospital of Chinese PLA-Peking University Teaching Hospital, Beijing 100101, China.
The Center for Hepatopancreatobiliary Diseases, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, Tsinghua University, Beijing 102218, China.
Life Sci Space Res (Amst). 2020 Nov;27:74-82. doi: 10.1016/j.lssr.2020.07.009. Epub 2020 Jul 30.
Weightlessness is a component of the complex space environment. It exerts adverse effects on the human body, and may pose unknown challenges to the implementation of space missions. The regular function of the digestive system is an important checkpoint for astronauts to conduct missions. Simulated microgravity can recreate the changes experienced by the human body in a weightless environment in space to a certain extent, providing technical support for the exploration of its mechanism and a practical method for other scientific research.
In the present study, we reviewed and discussed the latest research on the effects of weightlessness or simulated microgravity on the digestive system, as well as the current challenges and future expectations for progress in medical science and further space exploration.
A series of studies have investigated the effects of weightlessness on the human digestive system. On one hand, weightlessness and the changing space environment may exert certain adverse effects on the human body. Studies based on cells or animals have demonstrated the complex effects on the human digestive system in response to weightlessness. On the other hand, a microgravity environment also facilitates the ideation of novel concepts for research in the domain of life science.
The effects of weightlessness on the digestive system are considerably complicated. The emergence of methods that help simulate a weightless environment provides a more convenient alternative for assessing the impact and the mechanism underlying the effect of weightlessness on the human body. In addition, the simulated microgravity environment facilitates the ideation of novel concepts for application in regenerative medicine and other fields of life science.
失重是复杂空间环境的一个组成部分。它对人体产生不利影响，并可能对执行太空任务带来未知挑战。消化系统的正常功能是宇航员执行任务的重要检查点。模拟微重力可以在一定程度上重现人体在空间失重环境中经历的变化，为探索其机制提供技术支持，并为其他科学研究提供实用方法。
在本研究中，我们回顾和讨论了关于失重或模拟微重力对消化系统影响的最新研究，以及医学科学和进一步太空探索的当前挑战和未来期望。
一系列研究调查了失重对人体消化系统的影响。一方面，失重和不断变化的空间环境可能对人体产生一定的不利影响。基于细胞或动物的研究表明，人体对失重的反应存在复杂的影响。另一方面，微重力环境也有助于为生命科学领域的研究产生新的概念。
失重对消化系统的影响相当复杂。出现有助于模拟失重环境的方法为评估失重对人体的影响和机制提供了更方便的选择。此外，模拟微重力环境有助于为再生医学和生命科学的其他领域的应用产生新的概念。
