by J. Vassy, S. Portet, M. Beil, G. Millot, F. Fauvel-Lafève and G. Gasset and D. Schoevaert
Abstract:
Because cells are sensitive to mechanical forces, weightlessness might act on stress-dependent cell changes. Human breast cancer cells MCF-7, flown in space in a Photon capsule, were fixed after 1.5, 22 and 48 h in orbit. Cells subjected to weightlessness were compared to 1 g in-flight and ground controls. Post-flight, fluorescent labeling was performed to visualize cell proliferation (Ki-67), three cytoskeleton components and chromatin structure. Confocal microscopy and image analysis were used to quantify cycling cells and mitosis, modifications of the cytokeratin network and chromatin structure. Several main phenomena were observed in weightlessness: The perinuclear cytokeratin network and chromatin structure were looser; More cells were cycling and mitosis was prolonged. Finally, cell proliferation was reduced as a consequence of a cell-cycle blockade; Microtubules were altered in many cells. The results reported in the first point are in agreement with basic predictions of cellular tensegrity. The prolongation of mitosis can be explained by an alteration of microtubules. We discuss here the different mechanisms involved in weightlessness alteration of microtubules: i) alteration of their self-organization by reaction-diffusion processes, and a mathematical model is proposed, ii) activation or deactivation of microtubules stabilizing proteins, acting on both microtubule and microfilament networks in cell cortex.
Reference:
Weightlessness acts on human breast cancer cell line MCF-7. (J. Vassy, S. Portet, M. Beil, G. Millot, F. Fauvel-Lafève and G. Gasset and D. Schoevaert), In Adv Space Res, volume 32, 2003.
Bibtex Entry:
@ARTICLE{Vassy2003,
author = {J. Vassy and S. Portet and M. Beil and G. Millot and F. Fauvel-Lafève
and G. Gasset and D. Schoevaert},
title = {Weightlessness acts on human breast cancer cell line MCF-7.},
journal = {Adv Space Res},
year = {2003},
volume = {32},
pages = {1595--1603},
number = {8},
abstract = {Because cells are sensitive to mechanical forces, weightlessness might
act on stress-dependent cell changes. Human breast cancer cells MCF-7,
flown in space in a Photon capsule, were fixed after 1.5, 22 and
48 h in orbit. Cells subjected to weightlessness were compared to
1 g in-flight and ground controls. Post-flight, fluorescent labeling
was performed to visualize cell proliferation (Ki-67), three cytoskeleton
components and chromatin structure. Confocal microscopy and image
analysis were used to quantify cycling cells and mitosis, modifications
of the cytokeratin network and chromatin structure. Several main
phenomena were observed in weightlessness: The perinuclear cytokeratin
network and chromatin structure were looser; More cells were cycling
and mitosis was prolonged. Finally, cell proliferation was reduced
as a consequence of a cell-cycle blockade; Microtubules were altered
in many cells. The results reported in the first point are in agreement
with basic predictions of cellular tensegrity. The prolongation of
mitosis can be explained by an alteration of microtubules. We discuss
here the different mechanisms involved in weightlessness alteration
of microtubules: i) alteration of their self-organization by reaction-diffusion
processes, and a mathematical model is proposed, ii) activation or
deactivation of microtubules stabilizing proteins, acting on both
microtubule and microfilament networks in cell cortex.},
institution = {IUH, IFR Saint Louis, Hôpital Saint Louis, Paris cedex, France. jvassy@chu-stlouis.fr},
keywords = {Actin Cytoskeleton, physiology; Breast Neoplasms; Cell Cycle; Cell
Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Chromatin, physiology; Cytoskeleton,
physiology; Humans; Microtubules, physiology; Mitosis; Signal Transduction,
physiology; Space Flight; Weightlessness},
language = {eng},
medline-pst = {ppublish},
owner = {sportet},
pmid = {15002416},
timestamp = {2013.11.13}
}