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Effects of 14 days of microgravity on fast hindlimb and diaphragm muscles of the rat

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Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of 14 days of microgravity on specific rat fast-twitch muscles, and to compare these data with previous data from rat fast-twitch muscles exposed to microgravity for 10 days (Kraemer et al. 2000). Hindlimb muscles containing predominately fast fibers [extensor digitorum longus (EDL), superficial “white” (GSW) and deep “red” (GDR) gastrocnemius] and the diaphragm (DIA) were removed from flight and ground-based control animals and analyzed for: muscle mass, fiber type distribution, cross-sectional area, and myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform content. Gravitational unloading for 14 days caused significant decreases in muscle mass (8–9%) and cross-sectional area of almost all fiber types (10–35%) from both EDL and gastrocnemius muscles. However, microgravity had little effect on fiber type composition in these muscles with significant changes occurring only in the EDL type IID fiber population (9.5% decrease). Similarly, relative MHC isoform content was only slightly altered by exposure to microgravity (increased content of MHCIIa in flight EDL). No changes in area, fiber type percentages, or MHC isoform content were detected in the DIA following the 14-day spaceflight. Similar to data gathered following a 10-day spaceflight (Kraemer et al. 2000), the 14-day flight did not appear to cause significant slow-to-fast (I → IIA) or fast-to-faster (IIA → IID → IIB) transformations in hindlimb muscles containing predominantly fast-twitch fibers. However, the longer period of gravitational unloading did result in additional loss in muscle fiber cross-sectional area with involvement of more major fiber types.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported, in part, by the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine and by NASA grant NAGW-1196 to The Pennsylvania State University Center for Cell Research. We would like to thank the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine Photographic and Graphic Departments for help with the figures. We are also grateful for the technical assistance of Michael Fussell, Don Nguyen, and Babak Mokari, and to the laboratory staff of the Pennsylvania State University Center for Cell Research for their assistance in sample collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, College of Osteopathic Medicine, University of New England, 431 Stella Maris, Biddeford, NE, 04005, USA

    Mark D. Schuenke

  2. Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA

    David W. Reed & Robert S. Staron

  3. The Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA

    William J. Kraemer & Jeff S. Volek

  4. The Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA

    William J. Kraemer & Jeff S. Volek

  5. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for Cell Research, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Wesley C. Hymer

  6. Department of Sport and Exercise Science, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA

    Scott Gordon

  7. The Canadian Sport Centre, Montreal, Canada

    L. Perry Koziris

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  1. Mark D. Schuenke
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  2. David W. Reed
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Correspondence to Mark D. Schuenke.

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Schuenke, M.D., Reed, D.W., Kraemer, W.J. et al. Effects of 14 days of microgravity on fast hindlimb and diaphragm muscles of the rat. Eur J Appl Physiol 106, 885–892 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-009-1091-9

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