Effects of simulated microgravity on circadian rhythm of caudal arterial pressure and heart rate in rats and their underlying mechanism / 解放军医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the effects of simulated microgravity on the circadian rhythm of rats' caudal arterial pressure and heart rate, and their underlying mechanism. Methods Eighteen male SD rats (aged 8 weeks) were randomly assigned to control (CON) and tail suspension (SUS) group (9 each). Rats with tail suspension for 28 days were adopted as the animal model to simulate microgravity. Caudal arterial pressure and heart rate of rats were measured every 3 hours. The circadian difference of abdominal aorta contraction was measured by aortic ring test. Western blotting was performed to determine and compare the protein expression level of clock genes such as Per2 (Period2), Bmal1 (Aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocatorlike) and dbp (D element binding protein) in suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and abdominal aorta of rats in CON and SUS group at different time points. Results Compared with CON group, the caudal arterial pressure, both systolic and diastolic pressure, decreased significantly and the diurnal variability disappeared, meanwhile the heart rate increased obviously and also the diurnal variability disappeared in rats of SUS group. Compared with CON group, the contraction reactivity of abdominal aorta decreased with disappearence of the diurnal variability, and also the clock genes expression in SCN and abdominal aorta showed no diurnal variability in rats of SUS group. Conclusion Simulated microgravity may lead to circadian rhythm disorders in rats' cardiovascular system, which may be associated with the changes of the clock genes expression.