Findings from recent studies by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency examining musculoskeletal atrophy in space and on Earth

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Abstract

The musculoskeletal system provides the body with correct posture, support, stability, and mobility. It is composed of the bones, muscles, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, joints, and other connective tissues. Without effective countermeasures, prolonged spaceflight under microgravity results in marked muscle and bone atrophy. The molecular and physiological mechanisms of this atrophy under unloaded conditions are gradually being revealed through spaceflight experiments conducted by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency using a variety of model organisms, including both aquatic and terrestrial animals, and terrestrial experiments conducted under the Living in Space project of the Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. Increasing our knowledge in this field will lead not only to an understanding of how to prevent muscle and bone atrophy in humans undergoing long-term space voyages but also to an understanding of countermeasures against age-related locomotive syndrome in the elderly.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Satoshi Furukawa:

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4593-1434

furukawa.satoshi@jaxa.jp

Masahiro Chatani:

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1002-1775

chatani@dent.showa-u.ac.jp

Atsushi Higashitani:

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6920-0594

atsushi.higashitani.e7@tohoku.ac.jp

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): NPJ Microgravity

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): NPJ Microgravity

Title: NPJ Microgravity

Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK (London )

ISSN (Electronic): 2373-8065

Publication date (Electronic): 26 May 2021

Publication date PMC-release: 26 May 2021

Publication date Collection: 2021

Volume: 7

Electronic Location Identifier: 18

Affiliations

[1 ]GRID grid.62167.34, ISNI 0000 0001 2220 7916, Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba, ; Ibaraki, Japan

[2 ]GRID grid.410714.7, ISNI 0000 0000 8864 3422, Department of Pharmacology, , Showa University School of Dentistry, ; Tokyo, Japan

[3 ]GRID grid.410714.7, ISNI 0000 0000 8864 3422, Pharmacological Research Center, , Showa University, ; Tokyo, Japan

[4 ]GRID grid.69566.3a, ISNI 0000 0001 2248 6943, Graduate School of Life Sciences, , Tohoku University, ; Sendai, Japan

[5 ]GRID grid.444250.3, ISNI 0000 0004 0372 336X, Graduate School of Health Sciences, , Matsumoto University, Matsumoto, ; Nagano, Japan

[6 ]GRID grid.267335.6, ISNI 0000 0001 1092 3579, Department of Nutritional Physiology, , Institute of Medical Nutrition, Tokushima University Graduate School, ; Tokushima, Japan

[7 ]GRID grid.263518.b, ISNI 0000 0001 1507 4692, Department of Molecular Pharmacology, School of Medicine, , Shinshu University, Matsumoto, ; Nagano, Japan

[8 ]GRID grid.69566.3a, ISNI 0000 0001 2248 6943, Department of Developmental Neurobiology, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, , Tohoku University, ; Sendai, Japan

[9 ]GRID grid.258799.8, ISNI 0000 0004 0372 2033, Department of Growth Regulation, Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, , Kyoto University, ; Kyoto, Japan

[10 ]GRID grid.419714.e, ISNI 0000 0004 0596 0617, Department of Rehabilitation for the Movement Functions, , Research Institute, National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, Tokorozawa, ; Saitama, Japan

[11 ]GRID grid.484343.c, Japan Space Forum, ; Tokyo, Japan

[12 ]GRID grid.20515.33, ISNI 0000 0001 2369 4728, Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, , University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, ; Ibaraki, Japan

[13 ]GRID grid.410796.d, ISNI 0000 0004 0378 8307, Department of Cell Biology, , National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Suita, ; Osaka, Japan

Author information

Satoshi Furukawa http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4593-1434

Masahiro Chatani http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1002-1775

Atsushi Higashitani http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6920-0594

Satoru Takahashi http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8540-7760

Article

Publisher ID: 145

DOI: 10.1038/s41526-021-00145-9

PMC ID: 8155041

PubMed ID: 34039989

SO-VID: c2d5aff6-055b-425e-9bb6-17490dc5a73c

License:

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

History

Date received : 21 February 2020

Date accepted : 25 April 2021

Funding

Funded by: FundRef https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001691, MEXT | Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS);

Award ID: 15H05937

Award ID: 15H05935, 15H05943

Award ID: 18H04986

Award ID: 18H04987

Award ID: 18H04981

Award ID: 18H04993

Award ID: 18H04961

Award ID: 15H05938

Award ID: 18H04970

Award ID: 18H04965

Award ID: 18H04994

Award Recipient : Satoshi Furukawa Masahiro Chatani Atsushi Higashitani Fuminori Kawano Takeshi Nikawa Takuro Numaga-Tomita Toshihiko Ogura Fuminori Sato Atsuko Sehara-Fujisawa Masahiro Shinohara Satoru Takahashi Haruko Watanabe-Takano