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Principal Investigator:
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Anthony G. Lau, Ph.D.
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Organization:
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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During extended spaceflight missions, astronauts are exposed to a microgravity environment. The disuse from unloading of the musculoskeletal system results in bone loss and could also degrade the soft connective tissues (i.e. cartilage, meniscus, ligaments), which are critical to the proper functionality of the joint. Degradation of the soft tissues is important because it leads to laxity and joint instability, which when combined with loss of bone strength, could amplify the risk of bone fracture and joint injury. The increased fracture and injury risks in astronauts could compromise a mission and hinder recovery upon returning to Earth.
One established animal model for simulating and studying the effects of microgravity is hind-limb unloading (HLU) in mice. While changes in the bone have been studied in this model, quantitative assessment of soft tissues is difficult due to limitations in spatial resolution of MRI imaging. In addition, how this bone loss translates to loss of functional bone strength is not known. This laboratory has developed and is continually refining a new technique to image soft tissues with high resolution microCT, which enables quantitative analysis of bone and soft tissues in the mouse knee.
The project will investigate changes in the bone and soft tissues of the knee joint through these specific aims:
Specific Aims
1) Develop technology for imaging soft tissues of the knee using microCT.
2) Assess the joint damage resulting from HLU and recovery upon reloading.
The expected outcomes from this research provide a better understanding of how joint tissues degrade and recover from long-term exposure to microgravity. In addition, the newly developed ability to quantitatively image the soft tissues of the mouse knee enables the HLU model to be a valuable tool for development of countermeasures that protect both the bone and soft tissues against microgravity.
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