Qin Bing, Gao Xin, Wu Jiwen, Zhou Lu, Qian Zhiyu, Zhu Qiaoqiao
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China.
NPJ Microgravity. 2025 Jul 12;11(1):40. doi: 10.1038/s41526-025-00483-y.
This study was aimed to investigate the effects of microgravity on the biochemical and biomechanical change in the lumbar intervertebral disc (IVD) using a modelling approach. The lumbar IVD was considered as an inhomogeneous, porous, mixture consisting of a charged solid phase, an interstitial fluid phase, and a solute phase including charged (e.g., sodium ion, chloride ion) and uncharged (e.g., glucose, oxygen, lactate) solutes. A finite element model of the IVD was established based on the multiphase mixture theory. Our results showed that glucose and oxygen concentrations increased, while lactate concentration decreased under microgravity, compared to those under gravity condition. The metabolic rate of glucose, oxygen and lactate in the nucleus pulposus decreased, the water content increased, while the fluid pressure decreased in the IVD under microgravity compared to those under gravity. The results contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms of microgravity related biomechanics in the human IVD.
本研究旨在采用建模方法研究微重力对腰椎间盘生化和生物力学变化的影响。腰椎间盘被视为一种由带电固相、间质液相和包括带电（如钠离子、氯离子）和不带电（如葡萄糖、氧气、乳酸）溶质的溶质相组成的非均匀多孔混合物。基于多相混合物理论建立了椎间盘的有限元模型。我们的结果表明，与重力条件下相比，微重力下葡萄糖和氧气浓度增加，而乳酸浓度降低。与重力条件下相比，微重力下髓核中葡萄糖、氧气和乳酸的代谢率降低，含水量增加，而椎间盘内的流体压力降低。这些结果有助于更好地理解人体椎间盘中微重力相关生物力学的机制。
