US EPA

2758659 

Journal Article 

Microgravity alters basal and insulin-mediated metabolic activity of normal and neoplastic cells 

Coinu, R; Galleri, G; Pippia, P; Tilocca, MG; Meloni, M; Covelli, B; Chiaviello, A; Palumbo, G 

2004 

Yes 

Journal of Gravitational Physiology
ISSN: 1077-9248 

11 

2 

P185-P186 

English 

16237830 

In this paper we report the behaviour of normal vascular smooth muscle cells and transformed breast cancer cells under normal versus simulated microgravity conditions by comparing cell proliferation, Glucose transport, Methionine uptake and protein synthesis. Modeled microgravity profoundly affects cell growth (especially in normal cells) and Glucose or Methionine metabolism (although to different extent in the two cell lines). Since both cells own responsive insulin receptors, the comparison was extended to insulin-stimulated versus unstimulated conditions. We report that the detected metabolic changes were strongly enhanced when the cells were simultaneously stimulated with insulin and subjected to modeled microgravity stress. Such observations may have important returns for human health in space; they deserve further attention.