Effects of Simulated Weightlessness on Proteomic Profiles of Plasma in Rats
Objective: To investigate the effects of the simulated weightlessness on the proteomic profiles of plas ma in rats.Methods: Eighty-eight male adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into 11 groups according to the durations of simulated weightlessness,suspended for 6 h,12 h,1 d,2 d,3 d,5 d,1 week,2 week,3 week,4 week and 0 h(control).Tail-suspension technique was used to simulate the weightlessness animal model.The rats were sacrificed and the venous blood samples were taken in each group at the end of the experiment.The pro teomic profiles of the blood plasma were detected by the surface-enhanced laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry(SELDI-TOF-MS) and MB-WCX beads.All data were analyzed with the Ciphergen Pro tein Chip Software 3.2.0 and Biomarker Wizard 3.1.0.Results: Eighteen peaks of gravity-sensitive proteins were discovered,and 6 proteins with low molecular weight were up-regulated in the early phase of the simulated weight lessness,while 12 proteins with higher molecular weight showed downward trend on the contrary.Interestingly,a reversion to the standard levels was noticed in all the proteins of the rat blood plasma in the late phase(2 to 3 week after tail-suspension) of the simulated weightlessness.Conclusion: Simulated weightlessness could induce al terations of proteomic profiles of rat plasma,and detection of the gravity-sensitive proteins could provide useful messages to disclose the mechanism of weightlessness impacts on the body and may also be meaningful in the as tronaut medical surveillance.