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Review
. 2022 Aug 29;12(9):1343.
doi: 10.3390/life12091343.

Real and Simulated Microgravity: Focus on Mammalian Extracellular Matrix

Elena Andreeva  1 , Diana Matveeva  1 , Olga Zhidkova  1 , Ivan Zhivodernikov  1 , Oleg Kotov  1 , Ludmila Buravkova  1
Affiliations
Review

Real and Simulated Microgravity: Focus on Mammalian Extracellular Matrix

Elena Andreeva et al. Life (Basel). .

Abstract

The lack of gravitational loading is a pivotal risk factor during space flights. Biomedical studies indicate that because of the prolonged effect of microgravity, humans experience bone mass loss, muscle atrophy, cardiovascular insufficiency, and sensory motor coordination disorders. These findings demonstrate the essential role of gravity in human health quality. The physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms of an acute response to microgravity at various levels (molecular, cellular, tissue, and physiological) and subsequent adaptation are intensively studied. Under the permanent gravity of the Earth, multicellular organisms have developed a multi-component tissue mechanosensitive system which includes cellular (nucleo- and cytoskeleton) and extracellular (extracellular matrix, ECM) "mechanosensory" elements. These compartments are coordinated due to specialized integrin-based protein complexes, forming a distinctive mechanosensitive unit. Under the lack of continuous gravitational loading, this unit becomes a substrate for adaptation processes, acting as a gravisensitive unit. Since the space flight conditions limit large-scale research in space, simulation models on Earth are of particular importance for elucidating the mechanisms that provide a response to microgravity. This review describes current state of art concerning mammalian ECM as a gravisensitive unit component under real and simulated microgravity and discusses the directions of further research in this field.

Keywords: extracellular matrix; gravireception; mechanoreception; microgravity; simulation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The functional unit of mechanoreception: cellular and extracellular compartments. (A) Ingber’s tensegrity model. (B) Cellular and extracellular mechanosensitive patterns. Tensegrity stabilizing elements (tension and compression) are modulated by microgravity (µg). (C) Interconnection between extracellular and cellular mechanosensitive compartments. Transmembrane complexes (TCs): FAs—focal adhesion complexes; DGC—dystrophin glycoprotein complexes; DDR—discoidin domain receptors; ELR—elastin–laminin receptors; SDC—syndecans; CD44—hyaluronan receptors; LINC—the linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton. Table inset—extracellular ligands and its receptors. (A–C) Compression-resistant elements are colored in green. Tensional elements are colored in red. (Created with Biorender.com, https://biorender.com/ (accessed on 10 August 2022).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mechanoreception check-points and microgravity. Both extracellular and cellular compartments of the mechanosensitive functional unit are targets for gravity deprivation signals. The extracellular matrix (ECM), cytoskeleton (SC), and nucleoskeleton (NS) structures may be considered as gravity sensors. Specialized molecular hubs, transmembrane complexes (TCs), and the linkers of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton (LINC), provide the conversion of altered gravity signals into the nucleus mediating microgravity-affected mechanotransduction. Compression-resistant ECM and CS elements are colored in green. Tensional elements are colored in red.
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