The Impact of Microgravity and Hypergravity on Endothelial Cells

Table 2

The effects of hypergravity conditions on different endothelial cell types.

Experimental model	Experimental conditions	Effects	Authors
Primary human umbilical vein ECs (HUVEC)	Hypergravity conditions (generated by a MidiCAR centrifuge at 3.5 xg) for 24–48 h	↑ migration; ↑ NO; Altered distribution of actin fibers	Versari et al., 2007; [12]
	Hypergravity conditions (generated by a centrifuge at 3 xg) for 24–48 h	↑ cav-1; ↑ distribution of caveolae in the cell interior; ↑ COX-2, NO, and PGI2 production; ↓ angiogenesis (through a pathway not involving apoptosis)	Spisni et al., 2003; [65]
	Liftoff simulation by centrifuge (7.5 min simulation of the pattern of g forces experienced during liftoff of the NASA space shuttle)	↓ MAPK phosphorylation; ↑ occludin expression	Sumanasekera et al., 2006; [66]
	Liftoff simulation by centrifuge (7.5 min simulation of the pattern of g forces experienced during liftoff of the NASA space shuttle)	↑ Paracellular permeability; ↓ Occludin; ↓ Transendothelial electrical resistance; ↓ MAPK activation; ↓ EC barrier function	Sumanasekera et al., 2007; [67]
Bovine aortic ECs (BAEC)	Hypergravity (thermostated 3-18K Sigma Zentrifugen, 5 periods of 10 min exposure to 10 xg spaced with 10 min at 1 xg)	Modified integrin distribution; Reorganization of cytoskeletal network; ↓ genes controlling vasoconstriction and inflammation; ↓ Proapoptotic signals	Morbidelli et al., 2009; [68]
	Hypergravity (3 xg) applied by low speed centrifuge	↑ ATP release; ↑ actin reorganization via RhoA; activation and FAK phosphorylation; ↑ cell proliferation and migration	Koyama et al., 2009; [69]
Bovine coronary venular ECs (CVEC)	Hypergravity (thermostated 3-18K Sigma Zentrifugen, 5 periods of 10 min exposure to 10 xg spaced with 10 min at 1 xg)	↓ proapoptotic genes (FADD, Fas, Fas-L); ↑ antiapoptotic gene NFBChange in cytoskeleton organization; Alteration of cell energy metabolism	Monici et al., 2006; [27]
Human EC line EA.hy926	Hypergravity; Experiments (MuSIC, DLR, Cologne, Germany centrifuge 1.8 xg); Vibration experiments (Vibraplex vibration platform frequency range 0.2–14 kHz)	↓ CARD8, NOS3, VASH1, SERPINH1 (all P1), CAV2, ADAM19, TNFRSF12A, CD40, and ITGA6 (P31) mRNAs; No significant changes on gene expression and morphology of the cells	Grosse et al., 2012; [41]
	Hypergravity; Experiments (MuSIC, DLR, Cologne, Germany centrifuge 1.8 xg); Vibration experiments (Vibraplex vibration platform frequency range 0.2–14 kHz)	↓ Pan-actin, tubulin, and Moesin; ↓ gene expression of CCND1, MSN, RDX, OPN, BIRC5, and ACTB; ↑ Pan-actin, tubulin, and ezrin; ↓ β-Actin and Moesin; ↓ ACTB, CCND1, CDC6, CDKN1A, VEGFA, FLK-1, EZR, ITBG1, OPN, CASP3, CASP8, ANXA2, and BIRC5	Wehland et al., 2013; [42]

Legend: ↑, increased; ↓, decreased.