title: Cell cultivation under different gravitational loads using a novel random positioning incubator.
abstract: Important in biotechnology is the establishment of cell culture methods that reflect the in vivo situation accurately. One approach for reaching this goal is through 3D cell cultivation that mimics tissue or organ structures and functions. We present here a newly designed and constructed random positioning incubator (RPI) that enables 3D cell culture in simulated microgravity (0 g). In addition to growing cells in a weightlessness-like environment, our RPI enables long-duration cell cultivation under various gravitational loads, ranging from close to 0 g to almost 1 g. This allows the study of the mechanotransductional process of cells involved in the conversion of physical forces to an appropriate biochemical response. Gravity is a type of physical force with profound developmental implications in cellular systems as it modulates the resulting signaling cascades as a consequence of mechanical loading. The experiments presented here were conducted on mouse skeletal myoblasts and human lymphocytes, two types of cells that have been shown in the past to be particularly sensitive to changes in gravity. Our novel RPI will expand the horizon at which mechanobiological experiments are conducted. The scientific data gathered may not only improve the sustainment of human life in space, but also lead to the design of alternative countermeasures against diseases related to impaired mechanosensation and downstream signaling processes on earth.
authors.affiliation: CC Aerospace Biomedical Science & Technology, Space Biology Group, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU), Hergiswil, Nidwalden, Switzerland; Institute for Biomechanics, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETHZ), Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Benavides Damm
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Walther
authors.forename: Simon L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Wüest
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sekler
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Egli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D006112:Gravitation; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D032342:Muscle Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D018474:Weightlessness Simulation
keywords: lymphocyte activation; mechanical unloading; mechanotransduction; muscle cells; partial gravity; random positioning machine