Oxidative stress and down-regulation of Na⁺,K⁺ -ATPase in rats' brain induced by simulated microgravity

The phenomenon of oxidative stress when exposed to microgravity environment in rats brain was repeated through the ground-based rat's tail-suspended model, the hydroxyl radicals and MDA were detected in brain tissue. The results showed that the content of hydroxyl radical and MDA increased markedly in the striatum and hippocampus of tail-suspended rats compared to the control group, which indicates obviously oxidative stress occurred in brain. The decrease in Na ⁺ , K⁺ -ATPase activity is sometimes accompanied by oxidative stress, while in this study 9 ATPases were identified down-regulated in striate synapse through the comparative proteomics analysis. All the findings suggested that microgravity effects may be bound up with the increase of oxidative stress and decrease in Na⁺ ,K⁺-ATPase activity, and made a foundation for further exploration on mechanism of microgravity effects and other impairments to physiologic system induced by microgravity.