Gravity and Cancer

Gravity is a well-known, but little understood, physical force. Its intensity and direction have been constant throughout evolutionary history on Earth, making it difficult to understand what role, if any, this vector force may have on life as we know it. Based on evidence that cells cultured in simulated microgravity exhibit in vivo characteristics similar to the parent tissue and that gravity alters metabolic activity and expression of different genes and cell signaling in various cell lines, the present study addressed whether or not simulated microgravity provided a better culture environment to enhance cell adhesion and to study potential markers for diseased tissue. Simulated microgravity culture promotes aggregation of anchorage dependent cells, but understanding its effect on cell structures grown on a planar surface (e.g., skin) may prove critical to the development of vascular grafts and our understanding of cell metastasis.

Keywords:

Microgravity , Gravity and Cancer , Cancer treatments