Effects of local vibration on bone loss in -tail-suspended rats.

We investigated the effects of vibration (35 Hz, 45 Hz and 55 Hz) as countermeasure locally applied to unloading hind limbs on bone, muscle and Achilles tendon. 40 female Sprague Dawley rats were divided into 5 groups (n=8, each): tail-suspension (TS), TS plus 35 Hz/0.3 g vibration (TSV35), TS plus 45 Hz/0.3 g vibration (TSV45), TS plus 55 Hz/0.3 g vibration (TSV55) and control (CON). After 21 days, bone mineral density (BMD) and the microstructure of the femur and tibia were evaluated by µCT in vivo. The biomechanical properties of the femur and Achilles tendon were determined by a materials testing system. Ash weight of bone, isotonic contraction and wet weight of soleus were also investigated. 35 Hz and 45 Hz localized vibration were able to significantly ameliorate the decrease in trabecular BMD (expressed as the percentage change from TS, TSV35: 48.11%, TSV45: 31.09%), microstructure and ash weight of the femur and tibia induced by TS. Meanwhile, 35 Hz vibration significantly improved the biomechanical properties of the femur (57.24% bending rigidity and 41.66% Young's modulus vs. TS) and Achilles tendon (45.46% maximum load and 66.67% Young's modulus vs. TS). Additionally, Young's modulus of the femur was highly correlated with microstructural parameters. Localized vibration was useful for counteracting microgravity-induced musculoskeletal loss. In general, the efficacy of 35 Hz was better than 45 Hz or 55 Hz in tail-suspended rats.

Bone and muscle structure and quality preserved by active versus passive muscle exercise on a new stepper device in 21 days tail-suspended rats.

Human performance in microgravity is characterized by reversed skeletal muscle actions in terms of active vs. passive mode contractions of agonist/antagonist groups that may challenge principal biodynamics (biomechanical forces translated from muscle to bone) of the skeletal muscle-bone unit. We investigated active vs. passive muscle motions of the unloaded hindlimb skeletal muscle-bone unit in the 21 days tail-suspended (TS) rat using a newly designed stepper exercise device. The regimen included both active mode motions (TSA) and passive mode motions (TSP). A TS-only group and a normal cage group (CON) served as positive or negative controls. The muscle and bone decrements observed in TS-only group were not seen in the other groups except TSP. Active mode motions supported femur and tibia bone quality (5% BMD, 10% microtrabecular BV/TV, Tb.Th., Tb.N. parameters), whole soleus muscle/myofiber size and type II distribution, 20% increased sarcolemma NOS1 immunosignals vs. CON, with 25% more hybrid fiber formation (remodeling sign) for all TS groups. We propose a new custom-made stepper device to be used in the TS rat model that allows for detailed investigations of the unique biodynamic properties of the muscle-bone unit during resistive-load exercise countermeasure trials on the ground or in microgravity.