Effects of Suspension Hypokinesia/Hypodynamia on Morphometric Measurements of Rat Muscle Fibers

The effect of simulated weightlessness on the morphological and histochemical changes of skeletal muscles was investigated, using a suspension harness, for 10 days. The weights of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of the suspended rats decreased significantly, especially that of the soleus muscle. The mean fiber diameter and area of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscle from the suspended rats also decreased. The present results demonstrate that this model involving a suspension harness may be useful for studying the effects of muscle atrophy and simulated hypogravity on muscle metabolism.