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    Short-Term Effects of Whole-Body Exposure to56Fe Ions in Combination with Musculoskeletal Disuse on Bone Cells
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    Abstract:
    Space travel and prolonged bed rest cause bone loss due to musculoskeletal disuse. In space, radiation fields may also have detrimental consequences because charged particles traversing the tissues of the body can elicit a wide range of cytotoxic and genotoxic lesions. The effects of heavy-ion radiation exposure in combination with musculoskeletal disuse on bone cells and tissue are not known. To explore this, normally loaded 16-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were exposed to (56)Fe ions (1 GeV/nucleon) at doses of 0 cGy (sham), 10 cGy, 50 cGy or 2 Gy 3 days before tissue harvest. Additional mice were hindlimb unloaded by tail traction continuously for 1 week to simulate weightlessness and exposed to (56)Fe-ion radiation (0 cGy, 50 cGy, 2 Gy) 3 days before tissue harvest. Despite the short duration of this study, low-dose (10, 50 cGy) irradiation of normally loaded mice reduced trabecular volume fraction (BV/TV) in the proximal tibiae by 18% relative to sham-irradiated controls. Hindlimb unloading together with 50 cGy radiation caused a 126% increase in the number of TRAP(+) osteoclasts on cancellous bone surfaces relative to normally loaded, sham-irradiated controls. Together, radiation and hindlimb unloading had a greater effect on suppressing osteoblastogenesis ex vivo than either treatment alone. In sum, low-dose exposure to heavy ions (50 cGy) caused rapid cancellous bone loss in normally loaded mice and increased osteoclast numbers in hindlimb unloaded mice. In vitro irradiation also was more detrimental to osteoblastogenesis in bone marrow cells that were recovered from hindlimb unloaded mice compared to cells from normally loaded mice. Furthermore, irradiation in vitro stimulated osteoclast formation in a macrophage cell line (RAW264.7) in the presence of RANKL (25 ng/ml), showing that heavy-ion radiation can stimulate osteoclast differentiation even in the absence of osteoblasts. Thus heavy-ion radiation can acutely increase osteoclast numbers in cancellous tissue and, under conditions of musculoskeletal disuse, can enhance the sensitivity of bone cells, in particular osteoprogenitors, to the effects of radiation.
    Keywords:
    Hindlimb
    Cancellous bone
    The effects on the vascular resistance of the skinned hindlimb of changes in pressure within the vascularly isolated carotid sinus have been compared with those on systemic vascular resistance in the same rabbits. With the hindlimb perfused at arterial pressure a reduction of sinus pressure from 200 mm Hg to 40 mm Hg increased hindlimb vascular resistance by only 50% compared with an increase of 100% in systemic vascular resistance. Although cardiac output was unaltered, blood flow to the hindlimb increased by 24%. However, flow to the contralateral hindlimb, which had been sympathectomized, rose by 400% and its resistance was halved. These responses to a reduction in sinus pressure show that in the absence of sympathetic tone the hindlimb has a compliant vascular bed and indicate that even though the changes in vascular resistance of the innervated limb were much less than the average systemic resistance change, there must, nevertheless, have been a substantial increase in sympathetic drive to the limb.
    Hindlimb
    Carotid sinus
    The rodent model of hindlimb unloading has been successfully used to simulate some of the effects of space flight conditions. Previous studies have indicated that mice exposed to hindlimb-unloading conditions have decreased resistance to infections compared to restrained and normally housed control mice. <i>Objective:</i> The purpose of this study was to clarify the mechanisms involved in resistance to infection in this model by examining the effects of hindlimb unloading on the function of the immune system and its impact on the production of catecholamines. <i>Methods:</i> Female Swiss Webster mice were hindlimb-unloaded during 48 h and the function of the immune system was assessed in spleen and peritoneal cells immediately after this period. In addition, the kinetics of catecholamine production was measured throughout the hindlimb-unloading period. <i>Results:</i> The function of the immune system was significantly suppressed in the hindlimb-unloaded group compared to restrained and normally housed control mice. Levels of catecholamines were increased in the hindlimb-unloaded group and peaked at 12 h following the commencement of unloading. <i>Conclusion:</i> These results suggest that physiological responses of mice are altered early after hindlimb unloading and that catecholamines may play a critical role in the modulation of the immune system. These changes may affect the ability of mice to resist infections.
    Hindlimb
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    Hindlimb
    Mesenchyme
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    The hindlimb deafferentation was found to entail disorders of the motor activity and sensitivity, as well as a decrease in the evoked activity in the cortical somatosensory areas, although in a lesser degree than transection of the same amount of dorsal roots innervating the forelimbs. Apparently, the afferent organization of the cat hindlimb is different from that of the forelimb. This accounts for preservation of a part of the afferent inflow from periphery to the cortex after partial deafferentation, as well as for the considerable rehabilitation of functions of deafferented hindlimb.
    Hindlimb
    Forelimb
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    Abstract The concept that vertebral fractures are caused by excessive loss of cancellous bone has been challenged by a recent study (J Bone Min Res 2:221, 1987) suggesting that vertebral bodies are composed mainly of cortical bone rather than cancellous bone. To resolve disagreement we used two independent methods to quantify the proportions of cortical and cancellous bone in 400 μm thick sections of the bodies of the second lumbar vertebrae from six men (aged 21–58 years) and seven women (aged 25–58 years). Based on the ash weight of the manually dissected components, 80% of the total bone in men and 72% in women was cancellous bone. Based on computer-assisted scanning of sections with a microdensitometer, 81% of the total bone in men and 71% in women was cancellous bone. We conclude that the traditional concept is correct: the vertebral body is composed mainly of cancellous bone.
    Cancellous bone
    Citations (86)