Rats with simulated weightlessness can partially restore hippocampal neuronal regeneration and synaptic structure after 4 weeks of reloading
XUE Caiyan
ZHENG Yiting
CHU Zhaoliang
LI Jiahui
ZHAO Fangfang
YANG Hongyan
ZHANG Pengfei
ZHANG Xing
LI Jia
GAO Feng
KOU Zhenzhen
DONG Ling
Abstract：Objective To study the changes of neuronal regeneration and synaptic structure in hippocampus of rats with simulated weightlessness after 4 weeks of reloading.Methods Male SD rats were randomly divided into control group(Ctrl group),tail suspension group(SUS group),and tail suspension+reloading group(SUS+Reloading group).The open field test was used to detect the emotional states of rats,and the novel object recognition test was used to detect the cognitive function of rats.Immunofluorescence staining and Western blotting were used to detect neuronal regeneration in the hippocampus.Golgi-Cox staining was used to observe the changes in hippocampal synaptic structure.Results The open field test showed that the distance and time in central zone of rats in SUS group and SUS+Reloading group were significantly reduced(P＜0.05).The results of novel object recognition test showed that the novel object discrimination index of rats in SUS group decreased(P＜0.01),while it increased in SUS+Reloading group(P＜0.05).The results of immunofluorescence staining and Western blotting showed that the fluorescence density and protein expression of neuronal regeneration in the hippocampus of SUS group were significantly reduced(P＜0.01).The results of Golgi-Cox staining suggested that simulated weightlessness led to decreased synaptic integrity and dendritic spine density in the hippocampus(P＜0.01).The above experimental results were significantly improved in rats with simulated weightlessness after 4 weeks of reloading(P＜0.05).Conclusion Simulated weightlessness impairs hippocampal neuronal regeneration and synaptic development in rats,which can be partially reversed after 4 weeks of reloading.
Keywords：simulated weightlessnessreloadingcognitionhippocampusregenerationsynapserat
Publication Date：2025-01-27
Online Publishing Date：2026-08-26(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)