Abstract
All life on earth has been established under conditions of stable gravity of 1g. Nevertheless, in numerous experiments the direct gravity dependence of biological processes has been shown on all levels of organization, from single molecules to humans. To study the effects especially of microgravity on biological systems, a variety of platforms are available, from drop towers to the ISS. Due to the costs of these platforms and their limited availability, as an alternative, numerous simulators have been developed for so called “simulated” microgravity. A classical systems is a clinostat, basically rotating a sample around one axis, and by integration of the gravity vector for 360° arguing that thus the effects of gravity are depleted. Indeed, a variety of studies has shown that taking out the direction of gravity from a biological system often results in consequences similar to the exposure of the system to real microgravity. Nevertheless, the opposite has been shown, too, and as a consequence the relevance of clinostats in microgravity research is still under discussion. To get some more insight into this problem we have constructed a small fluorescence clinostat and have studied the effects of clinorotation on the cytosolic calcium concentration of neuroglioma cells. The results have been compared to experiments with identical cells in real microgravity, utilizing parabolic flight missions. Our results show that in case of a cell suspension used in a small florescence clinostat within a tube diameter of 2mm, the effects of clinorotation are comparable to those under real microgravity, both showing a significant increase in intracellular calcium concentration.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Biedler, J.L., Roffler-Tarlov, S., Schachner, M., Freedman, L.S.: Multiple neurotransmitter synthesis by human neuroblastoma cell lines and clones. Cancer Res. 38(11 Pt 1), 3751–7 (1978)
Briegleb, W.: Some qualitative and quantitative aspects of the fast-rotating clinostat as a research tool. ASGSB Bull. 5, 23–30 (1992)
Brungs, S., Egli, M., Wuest, S.L., Christianen, P.C.M., van Loon, J.W.A., Ngo Anh, T.J., Hemmersbach, R.: Facilities for simulation of microgravity in the ESA ground-based facility programme. Microgravity Sci. Technol. 28, 191–203 (2016)
Bushart, T.J., Cannon, A., Clark, G., Roux, S.J.: Structure and function of CrACA1, the major PM-type Ca2+-ATPase, expressed at the peak of the gravity-directed trans-cell calcium current in spores of the fern Ceratopteris richardii. Plant Biol. 16, 151–157 (2014)
Cogoli, M.: The fast rotating clinostat: a history of its use in gravitational biology and a comparison of ground-based and flight experiment results. ASGSB Bull. 5(2), 59–67 (1992)
Hausmann, N., Fengler, S., Hennig, A., Franz-Wachtel, M., Hampp, R., Neef, M.: Cytosolic calcium, hydrogen peroxide and related gene expression and protein modulation in Arabidopsis thaliana cell cultures respond immediately to altered gravitation: parabolic flight data. Plant Biol. 16(Suppl. 1), 120–128 (2014)
Herranz, R., Anken, R., Boonstra, J., Braun, M., Christianen, P.C., Geest, M., Hauslage, J., Hilbig, R., Hill, R., Lebert, M., Medina, F., Vagt, N., Ullrich, O., van Loon, J., Hemmersbach, R.: Ground-based facilities for simulation of microgravity: organism-specific recommendations for their use, and recommended terminology. Astrobiology 13(1), 1–17 (2013)
Hoson, T., Kamisaka, S., Masuda, Y., Yamashita, M., Buchen, B.: Evaluation of the three-dimensional clinostat as a simulator of weightlessness. Planta 203, 187–97 (1997)
Klaus, D.M.: Clinostats and bioreactors. Gravit. Space Biol. Bull. 14(2), 55–64 (2001)
Klaus, D.M., Todd, P., Schatz, A.: Functional weightlessness during clinorotation of cell suspensions. Adv. Space Res. 21(8/9), 1315–1318 (1998)
Kohn, F.: High throughput fluorescent screening of membrane potential and intracellular calcium concentration under variable gravity conditions. Micrograv. Sci. Technol. 25:2, 113–120 (2013)
Neef, M., Denn, T., Ecke, M., Hampp, R.: Intracellular calcium decreases upon hyper gravity treatment of Arabidopsis Thaliana cell cultures. Micrograv. Sci. Tech. 28, 331–336 (2016)
Novespace: Parabolic flight campaign: Practical and technical information. DI-2007-3-en, updated May 2007 (2007)
Pletser, V.: Are aircraft parabolic flights really parabolic? Acta Astronaut. 89, 226–228 (2013)
Richter, R., Lebert, M., Harald Tahedl, H., Donat-P. Häder, D.-P.: Calcium is involved in the gravitactic orientation in colorless flagellates. J. Plant Physiol. 158, 689–697 (2001)
Richter, P.R., Schuster, M., Wagner, H., Lebert, M., Häder, D.P.: Physiologicalparametersofgravitaxisinthe flagellate Euglena gracilis obtained during a parabolic flight campaign. Plant Physiol. 159, 181–190 (2002)
von Sachs, F.G.J.R.: ÜBer ausschließung der geotropischen und heliotropischen Krümmungen während des Wachstums. Würzburger Arbeiten 2, 209–225 (1879)
Wiedemann, M., Kohn, F.P.M., Rösner, H., Hanke, W.R.L.: Self-organization and pattern-formation in neuronal systems under conditions of variable gravity. In: Springer Complexity. ISBN 978-3-642-14471-4. Springer Publishing Comp. (2011)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hauslage, J., Abbrecht, M., Hanke, L. et al. Cytosolic Calcium Concentration Changes in Neuronal Cells Under Clinorotation and in Parabolic Flight Missions. Microgravity Sci. Technol. 28, 633–638 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-016-9520-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-016-9520-y