Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of 2D clinostat-simulated weightlessness on biological characteristics of MLO-Y4 osteocyte-like cells. MLO-Y4 cells were incubated for 24 h and rotated using a 2D clinostat for 2 h. The bioeffects of clinostat culture on cellular morphology, cytoskeleton, and gene expression were investigated. The results show that 2D clinostat-simulated weightlessness induce actin cytoskeleton rearrangement, but unaffected the cellular morphology and number of processes/cell. Also, after 2 h of clinostat culture, expression of RANKL and IL-6 decreased by 19%±5% and 20%±4%, respectively, while cox-2 level increased by 65%±8%. These results provide some clue to explore the cellular mechanism of bone loss caused by weightlessness
