头低位卧床对恒河猴骨代谢、糖脂代谢的抑制效应及其相关性分析

空间失重引起的骨代谢调节失衡是航天员遭受的最严重的危害之一.骨代谢失衡还有可能影响机体的糖脂代谢平衡.本研究利用恒河猴头低位卧床模拟失重效应实验方法,分析头低位卧床过程中恒河猴血清中骨代谢、糖脂代谢指标变化情况及其相关性.卧床组恒河猴血清中BAP在头低位卧床实验开始7天便出现了显著下降（P<0.05）,血清胰岛素、高密度脂肪酸含量在7天显著下降并一直维持在较低水平,血糖含量在7天时显著下降,但在21天时明显回升.分析发现,骨钙素与血糖、皮质醇、高密度脂肪酸含量间均存在相关性,这表明头低位卧床模拟失重效应实验中骨与糖脂代谢之间存在相互调控.      

长期禁食对尿酸代谢的影响及其调控机制探讨

为研究长期禁食过程中大鼠尿酸代谢的变化及其潜在的调控机制，以Sprague-Dawley(SD)大鼠为动物模型，通过病理组织切片、生化检测、荧光定量PCR(qRT-PCR)以及蛋白免疫印迹（Western blotting）等方法分析不同禁食时间（1,2,3,5,7天）大鼠尿酸水平及其代谢相关基因和蛋白的表达变化。结果表明，长期禁食未对大鼠肾脏组织产生明显的损伤，引起了血尿酸水平上升、尿尿酸水平波动性变化和血液尿酸酶活性升高；随着禁食时间的延长，主要尿酸转运蛋白的mRNA和蛋白表达水平逐渐上调。长期禁食过程中大鼠尿酸代谢变化可能与尿酸转运蛋白及尿酸酶活性有关。     

微重力对拟南芥长势影响的代谢网络流平衡分析

微重力作为典型的空间环境因素,对植物生长发育的影响机制是空间生命科学的研究热点。微重力环境直接或间接影响植物代谢,并引起许多生理适应。 随着系统生物学的发展,代谢网络模型使微重力环境下的植物代谢建模成为可能。采用流平衡分析方法对模式植物拟南芥不同组织的代谢网络进行分析,研究微重力对拟南芥生长发育的影响机制。通过比较空间与地面条件下拟南芥的生物质产量,发现空间条件下拟南芥黄化幼苗、幼苗、芽、根、下胚轴的生物量分别下降了33.00%,51.52%,6.89%,12.53%,11.70%,与空间环境下拟南芥的长势变化趋势一致。代谢通路富集分析发现,微重力使得拟南芥的碳固定等通路下调,而磷酸戊糖途径上调,初步解析了微重力对拟南芥生长发育的影响机制,也验证了流平衡方法用于微重力生物学效应研究中的可行性。      

代谢起源进化的分子模拟研究

新陈代谢为生命提供了物质和能量基础,与生命起源和进化密切相关.然而,由于缺乏化石证据,代谢的起源及其影响生物进化的分子机制等重要问题尚待解决.近年来,网络扩张算法等分子模拟方法的出现为解决这些问题提供了新途径.本文综述了近年来代谢起源进化的分子模拟研究,以期为相关领域学科发展提供新思路.     

三维回转器回旋条件下拟南芥种子发育分析

向重力性反应是植物适应地球重力环境的一个重要生理过程, 是植物正常生长发育不可缺少的反应机制, 但是, 微重力是否影响植物种子发育至今尚无一致性结论. 本文研究了三维回转器回旋模拟微重力对拟南芥种子发育(胚胎发育与代谢活动)的影响. 研究结果表明, 三维回转条件下, 拟南芥果荚出现不规则弯曲或扭曲形态, 形成的种子中可溶性糖和淀粉含量明显增加, 盐溶性贮藏蛋白质含量显著降低而碱溶性蛋白质含量显著升高, 球形胚时期的种子对三维回转处理最为敏感. 对球形胚时期的植株进行短期的三维回转处理可抑制胚柄细胞的分裂和伸长, 而胚柄伸长受阻可能会影响到营养物质向胚胎中输送, 进而导致部分胚胎败育. 对种子干燥脱水阶段的植株进行三维回转处理不影响胚胎的发育, 但会导致种子贮藏蛋白质含量下降.      

日本计划发射生命科学卫星

日本宇宙开发事业团(NASDA)拟于1995年发射搭载老鼠、金鱼等生物的生命科学卫星,进行空间生物实验,其目的是为2000年前后航天员在空间站上长期驻留做实验准备,探求空间环境给予生物的影响。该计划是将搭载有生物实验装置的重约1吨的密闭舱,用NASDA于1992年开始研制的小型火箭J-1发射至高度为251～450km的低轨道上。在空间飞行约60天后,密闭舱将在海上回收。人在空间长期驻留,由于受到宇宙线的辐射及失重环境影响,存在     

人类首次模拟“火星之旅”实验获得成功

历时520天的“火星-500”项目于2011年11月4日顺利收官。这项实验取得了完美的成功,证明了航天员能够应对漫长火星之旅引发的孤独、沮丧等心理不适,从而对密闭环境下人的自身极限能力的认识有了突破。6名志愿者透露,实验中他们面临的最大挑战是孤独、无聊和幽闭恐惧症,不过除了一些小分歧之外,他们相处得很融洽。这次实验主要研究人的耐受能力,也就是超长航天飞行对人的健康和工作能力的影响。520天实验包括生理学、心理学和微生物学等5大类,其中呈现的变化规律为深化航天医学研究提供了有价值的依据。另外,在如何支持长时间航天飞行方面也积累了有益经验,如通信时滞状态下的信息传输、远程健康监控和诊断、运载配给能力、长期密闭飞行中的心理支持,等等。目前正在深度挖掘和分析数据,形成成果还有一个过程。     

直升机可计量性设计流程分析及参考模型构建

随着用户任务需求的增多,现代直升机功能日趋复杂并且长期处于复杂的使用环境中,机上所装载的大量测试类设备的精度会逐渐下降,计量保障人员必须定期检查上述关键测试类机载设备的精度指标,保证其处于完好状态.基于长期的直升机设计工作实践,本文总结了现有直升机计量保障中存在的问题,在现有可计量性及可计量性设计相关研究的基础上,明确...     

大鼠后肢去负荷体位调节装置设计与实验研究

通过对大鼠尾吊模型进行改进，研制出一种新型可调节体位的大鼠后肢去负荷悬吊装置，研究模拟微重力效应下体液分布变化对大鼠骨代谢的影响.将36只SD大鼠均分为对照组（CON）、头低位后肢去负荷组（HDT）、水平位后肢去负荷组（HH）和头高位后肢去负荷组（HUT）4组，实验21天后，利用DXA检测大鼠的骨密度（BMD）.模拟微重力效应下的三组大鼠后肢均发生严重骨丢失，其中HH和HUT组后肢BMD显著大于HDT组.实验结果表明，体液分布变化可能在模拟微重力效应导致的骨丢失中起到重要作用，新型大鼠后肢去负荷悬吊装置能够调节大鼠体位（体液）进行模拟微重力效应研究.      

回转处理对雨生红球藻细胞结构、光合活性、糖及虾青素代谢的影响研究

通过利用二维回转器模拟微重力,对20d回转条件下雨生红球藻细胞结构、光合活性、初级糖代谢及次生代谢产物变化情况进行分析,发现回转作用使得藻细胞体积变小,形状变得不规则.超微结构分析显示,回转处理后,藻细胞的淀粉粒变小,类囊体膜结构排列松弛.叶绿素含量在回转前期降低,中后期提高.类胡萝卜素含量及光合系统II活性在整个回转过程中均降低.由此得出藻细胞光合活性的下降与叶绿体类囊体膜结构的变化及色素含量下降有关.藻细胞淀粉粒变小、淀粉含量下降与淀粉酶活性的上升有关,说明回转作用通过提高淀粉酶水解活性造成淀粉含量下降.蔗糖和海藻糖的积累在藻细胞对早期回转条件的适应过程中发挥了一定保护作用,同时造成合成此两种糖的单糖底物葡萄糖和果糖含量下降.在被称作适应期的回转中期,叶绿素、葡萄糖和果糖均出现补偿性合成,而蔗糖和海藻糖的积累相比回转前期出现相应下降.雨生红球藻次生代谢产物虾青素在整个回转过程中均下降,分析认为这是由虾青素的原初合成底物即类胡萝卜素合成的降低所导致.     

Bone metabolism and formation of mice bred in a 2 G environment.

The purpose of this study is to reveal the effect of chronic hypergravity exposure on the bone formation and the bone metabolism when mammals produce offspring in a 2 G environment. We measured the length and width of the thighbone, the length of the pelvis, the width of the pelvic cavity and the width of the fourth cervical vertebra on the second (F2) and the third (F3) generation mice bred in a 2 G environment every ten days from 20 days old to 60 days old in an experiment on bone formation. In an experiment on bone metabolism, we measured calcium and phosphorus in the bones of the F3 in the 2 G group. Ratios of the thighbone length, pelvis length, pelvic cavity width, and fourth cervical vertebra width versus the body length were calculated. These ratios were higher in the 2 G group than the control group during all measuring periods. Calcium and phosphorus concentrations in the thighbone and the lumbar vertebra were lower in the 2 G group than in the control group. However, the calcium and phosphorus concentrations in the cervical vertebrae of the 2G group were higher. These results suggest that the influence of gravity load may vary in the bones.     

Parathyroid hormone-related protein is a gravisensor in lung and bone cell biology.

Parathyroid Hormone-related Protein (PTHrP) has been shown to be essential for the development and homeostatic regulation of lung and bone. Since both lung and bone structure and function are affected by microgravity, we hypothesized that 0 x g down-regulates PTHrP signaling. To test this hypothesis, we suspended lung and bone cells in the simulated microgravity environment of a Rotating Wall Vessel Bioreactor, which simulates microgravity, for up to 72 hours. During the first 8 hours of exposure to simulated 0 x g, PTHrP expression fell precipitously, decreasing by 80-90%; during the subsequent 64 hours, PTHrP expression remained at this newly established level of expression. PTHrP production decreased from 12 pg/ml/hour to 1 pg/ml/hour in culture medium from microgravity-exposed cells. The cells were then recultured at unit gravity for 24 hours, and PTHrP expression and production returned to normal levels. Based on these findings, we have obtained bones from rats flown in space for 2 weeks (Mission STS-58, SL-2). Analysis of PTHrP expression by femurs and tibias from these animals (n=5) revealed that PTHrP expression was 60% lower than in bones from control ground-based rats. Interestingly, there were no differences in PTHrP expression by parietal bone from space-exposed versus ground-based animals, indicating that the effect of weightlessness on PTHrP expression is due to the unweighting of weight-bearing bones. This finding is consistent with other studies of microgravity-induced osteoporosis. The loss of the PTHrP signaling mechanism may be corrected using chemical agents that up-regulate this pathway. In conclusion, PTHrP represents a stretch-sensitive paracrine signaling mechanism that may sense gravity.     

Assessing the hydromorphological condition of the Sub-Himalayan Mahananda-Balason system using the hydromorphological quality Index

An evaluation of the hydromorphological condition of the Mahananda-Balason River system of the sub-Himalayan foothills, West Bengal, India was attempted using a multiparameter-based Hydromorphological Quality Index (HQI). After segmenting these rivers based on continuity, bed material and channel planform, a total of 18 indicators, divided into 3 subgroups Continuity (C), Planform (P), and Floodplain Morphology (FM), were quantified reach-wise and scaled upon the level of alteration (1 for highly altered and 5 for no alteration). The derived overall HQI (3.6) exhibited a moderate hydromorphological quality of the system, however, significant differences between the HQIs of confined and unconfined reaches were witnessed. Students ‘t-test and Multiple Correspondence Analysis both portrayed vast dissimilarities among the confined and unconfined reaches and the clustering was depending on their confinement. The deviations measured from the system’s mean and least altered conditions portrayed that the confined reaches with lesser human interventions were in comparatively more pristine hydromorphological conditions. Conversely, unconfined reaches showed moderate to very poor hydromorphological conditions chiefly due to intense human-induced alterations regarding urbanization, embanking and sediment extraction. Restorations on these aspects should initiate with immediate effect to avoid a shortage of riverine resources such as fluvial sediment, fish and groundwater. Overall, this methodology was found suitable for continuous monitoring of the river systems along with the precise identification of areas and aspects to be restored for upgrading the hydromorphological quality. More testing of this methodology would eventually help in validating the hydromorphological quality assessment protocol for Indian rivers.     

Microgravity and bone cell mechanosensitivity.

The capacity of bone tissue to alter its mass and structure in response to mechanical demands has long been recognized but the cellular mechanisms involved remained poorly understood. Bone not only develops as a structure designed specifically for mechanical tasks, but it can adapt during life toward more efficient mechanical performance. Mechanical adaptation of bone is a cellular process and needs a biological system that senses the mechanical loading. The loading information must then be communicated to the effector cells that form new bone or destroy old bone. The in vivo operating cell stress derived from bone loading is likely the flow of interstitial fluid along the surface of osteocytes and lining cells. The response of bone cells in culture to fluid flow includes prostaglandin (PG) synthesis and expression of prostaglandin G/H synthase inducible cyclooxygenase (COX-2). Cultured bone cells also rapidly produce nitric oxide (NO) in response to fluid flow as a result of activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (ecNOS), which enzyme also mediates the adaptive response of bone tissue to mechanical loading. Earlier studies have shown that the disruption of the actin-cytoskeleton abolishes the response to stress, suggesting that the cytoskeleton is involved in cellular mechanotransduction. Microgravity, or better near weightlessness, is associated with the loss of bone in astronauts, and has catabolic effects on mineral metabolism in bone organ cultures. This might be explained as resulting from an exceptional form of disuse under near weightlessness conditions. However, under near weightlessness conditions the assembly of cytoskeletal elements may be altered since it has been shown that the direction of the gravity vector determines microtubular pattern formation in vivo. We found earlier that the transduction of mechanical signals in bone cells also involves the cytoskeleton and is related to PGE2 production. Therefore it is possible that the mechanosensitivity of bone cells is altered under near weightlessness conditions, and that this abnormal mechanosensation contributes to disturbed bone metabolism observed in astronauts. In our current project for the International Space Station, we wish to test this hypothesis experimentally using an in vitro model. The specific aim of our research project is to test whether near weightlessness decreases the sensitivity of bone cells for mechanical stress through a decrease in early signaling molecules (NO, PGs) that are involved in the mechanical loading-induced osteogenic response. Bone cells are cultured with or without gravity prior to and during mechanical loading, using our modified in vitro oscillating fluid flow apparatus. In this "FlowSpace" project we are developing a cell culture module that is used to provide further insight in the mechanism of mechanotransduction in bone.     

太空环境对肿瘤细胞生理特性的影响

将3种肿瘤细胞搭载于“神舟4号”的卫星返回舱内,经过7天太空飞行,回收后对存活细胞进行单克隆化,观察细胞形态,并测定了细胞周期、黏附力及细胞因子表达.结果显示,经太空飞行,小鼠黑色素瘤B16细胞的周期发生改变,G1期细胞明显增多(p<0.05),并表现多种细胞形态;人肺鳞癌细胞L78对血管内皮细胞黏附力明显减弱,但经传代培养其黏附力恢复且超过对照组细胞;Caski细胞IL-2、IL-8、TNF和TGF的表达均明显增加,而L78细胞上述4种细胞因子的表达均显著下降.结论,太空环境可影响肿瘤细胞的某些生理特性,但可否影响肿瘤细胞的免疫原性,仍需做进一步的实验.     

Hypergravity suppresses bone resorption in ovariectomized rats

The effects of gravity on bone metabolism are unclear, and little has been reported about the effects of hypergravity on the mature skeleton. Since low gravity has been shown to decrease bone volume, we hypothesized that hypergravity increases bone volume. To clarify this hypothesis, adult female rats were ovariectomized and exposed to hypergravity (2.9G) using a centrifugation system. The rats were killed 28 days after the start of loading, and the distal femoral metaphysis of the rats was studied. Bone architecture was assessed by micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and bone mineral density was measured using peripheral quantitative CT (pQCT). Hypergravity increased the trabecular bone volume of ovariectomized rats. Histomorphometric analyses revealed that hypergravity suppressed both bone formation and resorption and increased bone volume in ovariectomized rats.     

The response of endocrine system to stress loads during space flight in human subject.

The responses of endocrine system to the exposure to stress-work load and hormonal changes during oral glucose tolerance tests were studied in the Slovak astronaut before (three weeks before flight), during (on the 4th and the 6th days of space flight), and after space flight (1-3 days and 15-17 days after space flight) on board of space station MIR. Blood samples during the tests were collected via cannula inserted into cubital vein, centrifuged in the special appliance Plasma-03, frozen in Kryogem-03, and at the end of the 8-day space flight transferred to Earth in special container for hormonal analysis. Preflight workload produced an increase of plasma norepinephrine and a moderate elevation of epinephrine levels. Plasma levels of insulin, growth hormone, prolactin and cortisol were not markedly changed immediately or 10 min after the end of work load. The higher increases of plasma growth hormone, prolactin and catecholamine levels were noted after workload during space flight as compared to preflight response. The higher plasma glucose and insulin levels were noted during the oral glucose tolerance test in space flight and also in the post flight period. Plasma epinephrine levels were slightly decreasing during glucose tolerance test; however, plasma norepinephrine levels were not changed. The similar patterns of catecholamine levels during glucose tolerance test were found when compared the preflight, in-flight and post flight values. These data demonstrate the changes of the dynamic responses of endocrine system to stress-work and metabolic loads during space flight in human subject.