Ground-based assessment of JAXA mouse habitat cage unit by mouse phenotypic          studies

Miki Shimbo; Takashi Kudo; Michito Hamada; Hyojung Jeon; Yuki Imamura; Keigo Asano; Risa Okada; Yuki Tsunakawa; Seiya Mizuno; Ken-ichi Yagami; Chihiro Ishikawa; Haiyan Li; Takashi Shiga; Junji Ishida; Juri Hamada; Kazuya Murata; Tomohiro Ishimaru; Misuzu Hashimoto; Akiyoshi Fukamizu; Mutsumi Yamane; Masahito Ikawa; Hironobu Morita; Masahiro Shinohara; Hiroshi Asahara; Taishin Akiyama; Nobuko Akiyama; Hiroki Sasanuma; Nobuaki Yoshida; Rui Zhou; Ying-Ying Wang; Taito Ito; Yuko Kokubu; Taka-aki K. Noguchi; Hisako Ishimine; Akira Kurisaki; Dai Shiba; Hiroyasu Mizuno; Masaki Shirakawa; Naoki Ito; Shin Takeda; Satoru Takahashi

doi:10.1538/expanim.15-0077

Originals

Ground-based assessment of JAXA mouse habitat cage unit by mouse phenotypic studies

Miki Shimbo, Takashi Kudo, Michito Hamada, Hyojung Jeon, Yuki Imamura, Keigo Asano, Risa Okada, Yuki Tsunakawa, Seiya Mizuno, Ken-ichi Yagami, Chihiro Ishikawa, Haiyan Li, Takashi Shiga, Junji Ishida, Juri Hamada, Kazuya Murata, Tomohiro Ishimaru, Misuzu Hashimoto, Akiyoshi Fukamizu, Mutsumi Yamane, Masahito Ikawa, Hironobu Morita, Masahiro Shinohara, Hiroshi Asahara, Taishin Akiyama, Nobuko Akiyama, Hiroki Sasanuma, Nobuaki Yoshida, Rui Zhou, Ying-Ying Wang, Taito Ito, Yuko Kokubu, Taka-aki K. Noguchi, Hisako Ishimine, Akira Kurisaki, Dai Shiba, Hiroyasu Mizuno, Masaki Shirakawa, Naoki Ito, Shin Takeda, Satoru Takahashi

Author information

Miki Shimbo
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Doctoral Program in Biomedical Sciences, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Takashi Kudo
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Laboratory Animal Resource Center, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Michito Hamada
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Laboratory Animal Resource Center, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Hyojung Jeon
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Doctoral Program in Biomedical Sciences, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Yuki Imamura
Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Master’s Program in Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Keigo Asano
Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Master’s Program in Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Risa Okada
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Yuki Tsunakawa
Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Ph.D. Program in Human Biology, School of Integrative and Global Majors, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Seiya Mizuno
Laboratory Animal Resource Center, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Department of Laboratory Animal Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Ken-ichi Yagami
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Laboratory Animal Resource Center, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Department of Laboratory Animal Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Chihiro Ishikawa
Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Doctoral Program in Kansei, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Haiyan Li
Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Doctoral Program in Kansei, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Takashi Shiga
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Junji Ishida
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Life Science Center, Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance (TARA), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan
Juri Hamada
Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Life Science Center, Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance (TARA), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan
Kazuya Murata
Life Science Center, Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance (TARA), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan
Tomohiro Ishimaru
Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Misuzu Hashimoto
Ph.D. Program in Human Biology, School of Integrative and Global Majors, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Akiyoshi Fukamizu
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Life Science Center, Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance (TARA), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan
Mutsumi Yamane
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
Masahito Ikawa
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
Hironobu Morita
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Department of Physiology, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Yanagido, Gifu 501-1194, Japan
Masahiro Shinohara
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Department of Systems BioMedicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan
Hiroshi Asahara
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Department of Systems BioMedicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan
Taishin Akiyama
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Division of Cellular and Molecular Biology, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
Nobuko Akiyama
Division of Cellular and Molecular Biology, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
Hiroki Sasanuma
Laboratory of Developmental Genetics, Center for Experimental Medicine and Systems Biology, The Institute of Medical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
Nobuaki Yoshida
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Laboratory of Developmental Genetics, Center for Experimental Medicine and Systems Biology, The Institute of Medical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
Rui Zhou
Biotechnology Research Institute for Drug Discovery, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba Central 4-1-3106, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8562, Japan
Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease/Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Sichuan Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, P.R. China
Ying-Ying Wang
Biotechnology Research Institute for Drug Discovery, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba Central 4-1-3106, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8562, Japan
Taito Ito
Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Biotechnology Research Institute for Drug Discovery, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba Central 4-1-3106, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8562, Japan
Yuko Kokubu
Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Biotechnology Research Institute for Drug Discovery, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba Central 4-1-3106, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8562, Japan
Taka-aki K. Noguchi
Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Biotechnology Research Institute for Drug Discovery, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba Central 4-1-3106, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8562, Japan
Hisako Ishimine
Biotechnology Research Institute for Drug Discovery, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba Central 4-1-3106, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8562, Japan
Akira Kurisaki
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Biotechnology Research Institute for Drug Discovery, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba Central 4-1-3106, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8562, Japan
Dai Shiba
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
JEM Utilization Center, Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate, JAXA, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8505, Japan
Hiroyasu Mizuno
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
JEM Utilization Center, Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate, JAXA, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8505, Japan
Masaki Shirakawa
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
JEM Utilization Center, Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate, JAXA, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8505, Japan
Naoki Ito
Department of Molecular Therapy, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Tokyo, 187-8502, Japan
Shin Takeda
Department of Molecular Therapy, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Tokyo, 187-8502, Japan
Satoru Takahashi
Mouse Epigenetics Project, ISS/Kibo experiment, JAXA, Japan
Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Laboratory Animal Resource Center, University of Tsukuba, Japan

Keywords: habitat cage unit, microgravity, mouse, spaceflight

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Supplementary material

2016 Volume 65 Issue 2 Pages 175-187

DOI https://doi.org/10.1538/expanim.15-0077

Browse “Advance online publication” version

Details

Abstract

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency developed the mouse Habitat Cage Unit (HCU) for installation in the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) onboard the Japanese Experimental Module (“Kibo”) on the International Space Station. The CBEF provides “space-based controls” by generating artificial gravity in the HCU through a centrifuge, enabling a comparison of the biological consequences of microgravity and artificial gravity of 1 g on mice housed in space. Therefore, prior to the space experiment, a ground-based study to validate the habitability of the HCU is necessary to conduct space experiments using the HCU in the CBEF. Here, we investigated the ground-based effect of a 32-day housing period in the HCU breadboard model on male mice in comparison with the control cage mice. Morphology of skeletal muscle, the thymus, heart, and kidney, and the sperm function showed no critical abnormalities between the control mice and HCU mice. Slight but significant changes caused by the HCU itself were observed, including decreased body weight, increased weights of the thymus and gastrocnemius, reduced thickness of cortical bone of the femur, and several gene expressions from 11 tissues. Results suggest that the HCU provides acceptable conditions for mouse phenotypic analysis using CBEF in space, as long as its characteristic features are considered. Thus, the HCU is a feasible device for future space experiments.

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