Effects of clinostat-microgravity on bone and calcium metabolism in rats

Decreases in bone minerals and tissue volume after space flight have been observed in humans and animals, with a variety of results. Such data obtained from space flight experiments have given unsatisfactory results due to short periods of space flight and differences in age, body weights, and strain of animals used. Therefore, ground-based animal models have been developed in order to elucidate changes in bone affected by space flight. For example, a tail-suspended rat model has been established to study the effects of microgravity on bones by producing hind limb unloading. However, problems with this model due to the remaining forelimb loading and the unusual changes in blood current require the development of a new model simulating the physiological conditions of space flight. So we developed a three-dimension clinostat as an apparatus to produce a simulated microgravity similar to space flight by rotating rats equally in all directions. The purpose of the present study is to examine the effects of clinostat-microgravity on bone metabolism in rats.