How are cell and tissue structure and function influenced by gravity and what are the gravity perception mechanisms?

Davis, Trent and Tabury, Kevin and Zhu, Shouan and Angeloni, Debora and Baatout, Sarah and Benchoua, Alexandra and Bereiter-Hahn, Juergen and Bottai, Daniele and Buchheim, Judith-Irina and Calvaruso, Marco and Carnero-Diaz, Eugénie and Castiglioni, Sara and Cavalieri, Duccio and Ceccarelli, Gabriele and Choukér, Alexander and Cialdai, Francesca and Ciofani, Gianni and Coppola, Giuseppe and Cusella, Gabriella and Degl’Innocenti, Andrea and Desaphy, Jean-Francois and Frippiat, Jean-Pol and Gelinsky, Michael and Genchi, Giada and Grano, Maria and Grimm, Daniela and Guignandon, Alain and Hahn, Christiane and Hatton, Jason and Herranz, Raúl and Hellweg, Christine Elisabeth and Iorio, Carlo Saverio and Karapantsios, Thodoris and van Loon, Jack J.W.A. and Lulli, Matteo and Maier, Jeanette and Malda, Jos and Mamaca, Emina and Morbidelli, Lucia and van Ombergen, Angelique and Osterman, Andreas and Ovsianikov, Aleksandr and Pampaloni, Francesco and Pavezlorie, Elizabeth and Pereda-Campos, Veronica and Przybyla, Cyrille and Puhl, Christopher and Rettberg, Petra and Rizzo, Angela Maria and Robson-Brown, Kate and Rossi, Leonardo and Russo, Giorgio and Salvetti, Alessandra and Santucci, Daniela and Sperl, Matthias and Tavella, Sara and Thielemann, Christiane and Willaert, Ronnie and Szewczyk, Nathaniel and Monici, Monica (2024) How are cell and tissue structure and function influenced by gravity and what are the gravity perception mechanisms? npj Microgravity, 10 (1), p. 16. Nature Publishing Group. doi: 10.1038/s41526-024-00357-9. ISSN 2373-8065.

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Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41526-024-00357-9

Abstract

Progress in mechanobiology allowed us to better understand the important role of mechanical forces in the regulation of biological processes. Space research in the field of life sciences clearly showed that gravity plays a crucial role in biological processes. The space environment offers the unique opportunity to carry out experiments without gravity, helping us not only to understand the effects of gravitational alterations on biological systems but also the mechanisms underlying mechanoperception and cell/tissue response to mechanical and gravitational stresses. Despite the progress made so far, for future space exploration programs it is necessary to increase our knowledge on the mechanotransduction processes as well as on the molecular mechanisms underlying microgravity-induced cell and tissue alterations. This white paper reports the suggestions and recommendations of the SciSpacE Science Community for the elaboration of the section of the European Space Agency roadmap “Biology in Space and Analogue Environments” focusing on “How are cells and tissues influenced by gravity and what are the gravity perception mechanisms?” The knowledge gaps that prevent the Science Community from fully answering this question and the activities proposed to fill them are discussed.

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