Effects of simulated weightlessness on F-actin of pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells

Objective: To investigate the effects of simulated microgravity induced by clinostat on filamentous actin（F-action） of pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells（PMVEC） and explore its mechanism. Methods: Clinostat was used to simulate the effects of microgravity.Pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells were cultured on clinostat for 24h,48h and 72h,and then the F-actin of the cells were stained by Texas Red-X phalloidin.The images were collected by laser scanning confocal microscopy（LSCM）. Results: Clinostat induced the depolymerization of F-actin,which increased with the clinostat time. Conclusion: Simulated microgravity can induce the destruction of cytoskeleton by increasing the depolymerization of F-actin and injuring PMVEC.