title: Feasibility of a Short-Arm Centrifuge for Mouse Hypergravity Experiments.
abstract: To elucidate the pure impact of microgravity on small mammals despite uncontrolled factors that exist in the International Space Station, it is necessary to construct a 1 g environment in space. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has developed a novel mouse habitat cage unit that can be installed in the Cell Biology Experiment Facility in the Kibo module of the International Space Station. The Cell Biology Experiment Facility has a short-arm centrifuge to produce artificial 1 g gravity in space for mouse experiments. However, the gravitational gradient formed inside the rearing cage is larger when the radius of gyration is shorter; this may have some impact on mice. Accordingly, biological responses to hypergravity induced by a short-arm centrifuge were examined and compared with those induced by a long-arm centrifuge. Hypergravity induced a significant Fos expression in the central nervous system, a suppression of body mass growth, an acute and transient reduction in food intake, and impaired vestibulomotor coordination. There was no difference in these responses between mice raised in a short-arm centrifuge and those in a long-arm centrifuge. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using a short-arm centrifuge for mouse experiments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu, Japan; Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba, Japan.
authors.forename: Hironobu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Obata
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu, Japan.
authors.forename: Chikara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.affiliation: JEM Utilization Center, Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba, Japan.
authors.forename: Dai
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shiba
authors.affiliation: JEM Utilization Center, Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shirakawa
authors.affiliation: Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba, Japan; Laboratory Animal Resource Center, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan; Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kudo
authors.affiliation: Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba, Japan; Laboratory Animal Resource Center, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan; Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002498:Centrifugation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D018471:Hypergravity; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism; D014893:Weightlessness
chemical_list: D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos