Histomorphometric, physical, and mechanical effects of spaceflight and insulin-like growth factor-I on rat long bones

Previous experiments have shown that skeletal unloading resulting from exposure to microgravity induces osteopenia in rats. In maturing rats, this is primarily a function of reduced formation, rather than increased resorption. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) stimulates bone formation by increasing collagen synthesis by osteoblasts. The ability of IGF-I to prevent osteopenia otherwise caused by spaceflight was investigated in 12 rats flown for 10 days aboard the Space Shuttle, STS-77. The effect IGF-I had on cortical bone metabolism was generally anabolic. For example, humerus periosteal bone formation increased a significant 37.6% for the spaceflight animals treated with IGF-I, whereas the ground controls increased 24.7%. This increase in humeral bone formation at the periosteum is a result of an increased percent mineralizing perimeter (%Min.Pm), rather than mineral apposition rate (MAR), for both spaceflight and ground control rats. However, IGF-I did inhibit humerus endocortical bone formation in both the spaceflight and ground control rats (38.1% and 39.2%, respectively) by limiting MAR. This effect was verified in a separate ground-based study. Similar histomorphometric results for spaceflight and ground control rats suggest that IGF-I effects occur during normal weight bearing and during spaceflight. Microhardness measurements of the newly formed bone indicate that the quality of the bone formed during IGF-I treatment or spaceflight was not adversely altered. Spaceflight did not consistently change the structural (force-deflection) properties of the femur or humerus when tested in three-point bending. IGF-I significantly increased femoral maximum and fracture strength.