Start Date
April 2024
Location
2nd floor - Library
Abstract
Long-term skeletal muscle unloading due to microgravity exposure in spaceflight conditions has a striking effect on the health of skeletal muscle, which may impact performance of flight mission tasks. While resistance exercise has shown efficacy as a countermeasure, capacity constraints may preclude effective implementation of these exercise protocols on the lunar surface. As such, it is crucial to identify novel targets to ameliorate skeletal muscle atrophy. One such target is sialic acid(SA), a terminal glycan on extracellular glycan chains, as changes in SA are associated with skeletal muscle weakness and wasting due to their role in development, regeneration, and contractility. Here, we have used lectin staining with SA-binding wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) to assess sialylation in skeletal muscle of adult, male Wistar rats exposed to 14 days of hindlimb suspension (HLS) as compared to those exposed to normal loading (NL). Preliminary findings show that the soleus, but not the gastrocnemius muscle of rats exposed to HLS showed reduced WGA binding as compared to NL, indicating decreased SA. A better understanding of alterations in skeletal muscle sialylation after unloading could provide novel targets for pharmacological and nutraceutical interventions to address skeletal muscle atrophy in spaceflight conditions.
Sialic Acid Level Changes due to Muscle Atrophy from Spaceflight Conditions in a Rat Model of Microgravity
2nd floor - Library
Long-term skeletal muscle unloading due to microgravity exposure in spaceflight conditions has a striking effect on the health of skeletal muscle, which may impact performance of flight mission tasks. While resistance exercise has shown efficacy as a countermeasure, capacity constraints may preclude effective implementation of these exercise protocols on the lunar surface. As such, it is crucial to identify novel targets to ameliorate skeletal muscle atrophy. One such target is sialic acid(SA), a terminal glycan on extracellular glycan chains, as changes in SA are associated with skeletal muscle weakness and wasting due to their role in development, regeneration, and contractility. Here, we have used lectin staining with SA-binding wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) to assess sialylation in skeletal muscle of adult, male Wistar rats exposed to 14 days of hindlimb suspension (HLS) as compared to those exposed to normal loading (NL). Preliminary findings show that the soleus, but not the gastrocnemius muscle of rats exposed to HLS showed reduced WGA binding as compared to NL, indicating decreased SA. A better understanding of alterations in skeletal muscle sialylation after unloading could provide novel targets for pharmacological and nutraceutical interventions to address skeletal muscle atrophy in spaceflight conditions.
