Effects of simulated microgravity on the alkaline phosphatase activity and intracellular calcium concentration of cultured chondrocytes

The effects of simulated microgravity on matrix mineralization of chondrocytes were examined using cultured chicken embryonic chondrocytes as the model. In four days, there was a time course decrease in alkaline phosphatase activity of chondrocytes, a marker of matrix mineralization. Meanwhile, in two days, there was a significant drop in intracellular calcium concentration in contrast to the control. These results indicate that simulated microgravity can suppress matrix calcification of cultured chondrocytes, and intracellular calcium may be involved in the regulation of matrix calcification as the second messenger. Yang Shuzhang made the same contribution to this work as the first author