[Contractile properties of fibers and cytoskeletal proteins of gerbil's hindlimb muscles after space flight].

The work had the goal to compare the microgravity effects on gerbil's muscles-antagonists, m. soleus and m. tibialis anterior. The animals were exposed in 12-d space microgravity aboard Earth's artificial satellite "Foton-M3". Findings of the analysis of single skinned fibers contractility are 19.7% diminution of the diameter and 21.8% loss of the total contractive force of m. soleus fibers post flight. However, there was no significant difference in calcium sensitivity which agrees with the absence of changes in the relative content of several major cytoskeletal proteins (titin and nebulin ratios to heavy chains of myosin were identical in the flight and control groups) and a slight shifting of the myosin phenotype toward the "fast type" (9%, p < 0.05). These parameters were mostly unaffected by the space flight in m. tibialis anterior. To sum up, the decline of contractility and diminution of gerbil's myofibers after the space flight were less significant as compared with rats and did not impact the sytoskeletal protein ratios.