Effects of simulated microgravity on the morphology of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs)

This study aimed to assess the effects of simulated microgravity on mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) morphology. The results showed that the area of MEFs under simulated microgravity was 7843.39 +/- 551.31 mu m(2) which was lower than the control group (9832.72 +/- 453.86 mu m(2)) (p < 0.001). The nuclear area of MEFs under simulated microgravity (290.76 +/- 4.58 mu m(2)) and the control group (296.8 +/- 4.58 mu m(2)) did not statistically differ. In addition, the nuclear shape value of the MEFs under simulated microgravity and the control group did not statistically differ (0.86 +/- 0.006 vs. 0.87 +/- 0.003, respectively). The nuclear intensity of MEFs under simulated microgravity (19361 +/- 852) was higher than the control group (16997 +/- 285) (P <0.05). Moreover, the flow cytometry analysis indicated the reduced GO/G1 phase cell ratio and the increased S phase and G2/M phase cell ratio in MEFs under simulated microgravity. Simulated microgravity also induced a decrease in diameter of actin filament bundles of the MEFs under simulated microgravity (1.61 +/- 0.33 mu m) compared to the control group (1.79 +/- 0.32 mu m) (P <0.01). These results revealed that simulated microgravity is capable of inducing the morphological changes of mouse embryonic fibroblasts