Faculty Collaboration Database

Effect of spaceflight on the isotonic contractile properties of single skeletal muscle fibers in the rhesus monkey. J Gravit Physiol 2000 Jan;7(1):S53-4

Date

09/07/2001

Pubmed ID

11543460

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-0033642184 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   10 Citations

Abstract

Experiments from both Cosmos and Space Shuttle missions have shown weightlessness to result in a rapid decline in the mass and force of rat hindlimb extensor muscles. Additionally, despite an increased maximal shortening velocity, peak power was reduced in rat soleus muscle post-flight. In humans, declines in voluntary peak isometric ankle extensor torque ranging from 15-40% have been reported following long- and short-term spaceflight and prolonged bed rest. Complete understanding of the cellular events responsible for the fiber atrophy and the decline in force, as well as the development of effective countermeasures, will require detailed knowledge of how the physiological and biochemical processes of muscle function are altered by spaceflight. The specific purpose of this investigation was to determine the extent to which the isotonic contractile properties of the slow- and fast-twitch fiber types of the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were altered by a 14-day spaceflight.

Author List

Fitts RH, Romatowski JG, Blaser C, De La Cruz L, Gettelman GJ, Widrick JJ

Author

Robert Fitts PhD Professor in the Biological Sciences department at Marquette University

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Animals
Macaca mulatta
Male
Muscle Contraction
Muscle Fibers, Fast-Twitch
Muscle Fibers, Slow-Twitch
Muscle, Skeletal
Muscular Atrophy
Space Flight
Weightlessness