ArticlePhysiological reports2021
Hindlimb suspension in Wistar rats: Sex-based differences in muscle response.
Article in Physiological reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Women in space: A review of known physiological adaptations and health perspectives.Experimental physiology · 2026Review
- Alterations to longitudinal muscle morphology and mechanical function following immobilization and recovery in female ovariectomized and intact rats.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Estrogen Receptor Alpha (ERα) Is Involved in Resveratrol-Mediated Muscle Preservation During Mechanical Unloading in Male Rats.Muscles (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- Changes in muscle strength and moderators of protein turnover in a rodent model of anorexia nervosa and recovery.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Blood flow restriction training in microgravity: a review of multisystem physiological benefits and implementation challenges for long-duration space missions.NPJ microgravity · 2025Review
- Responses of skeletal muscle to mechanical stimuli in female rats following and during muscle disuse atrophy.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2025Article
- The Structural Adaptations That Mediate Mechanical Load-Induced Changes in Muscle Mass.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2025Review
- Electrical impedance myography as a marker of muscle mass in rats with simulated Anorexia Nervosa.Journal of electrical bioimpedance · 2025Article
- Curcumin Mitigates Muscle Atrophy Potentially by Attenuating Calcium Signaling and Inflammation in a Spinal Nerve Ligation Model.Current issues in molecular biology · 2024Article
- Sexual dimorphisms in skeletal muscle: current concepts and research horizons.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2024Review
- Dimorphic effect of TFE3 in determining mitochondrial and lysosomal content in muscle following denervation.Skeletal muscle · 2024Article
- Niacin supplementation attenuates the regression of three-dimensional capillary architecture in unloaded female rat skeletal muscle.Physiological reports · 2024Article
- Adaptation to full weight-bearing following disuse in rats: The impact of biological sex on musculoskeletal recovery.Physiological reports · 2024Article
- Review
- Sex differences in muscle health in simulated micro- and partial-gravity environments in rats.Sports medicine and health science · 2023Article
- Biological sex divergence in transcriptomic profiles during the onset of hindlimb unloading-induced atrophy.American journal of physiology. Cell physiology · 2023Article
- The Effect of SERCA Activation on Functional Characteristics and Signaling of Rat Soleus Muscle upon 7 Days of Unloading.Biomolecules · 2023Article
- Influence of gonadectomy on muscle health in micro- and partial-gravity environments in rats.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2023Article
- Development of skeletal muscle fibrosis in a rodent model of cancer cachexia.Cell biochemistry and function · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Ground-based animal models have been used extensively to understand the effects of microgravity on various physiological systems. Among them, hindlimb suspension (HLS), developed in 1979 in rats, remains the gold-standard and allows researchers to study the consequences of total unloading of the hind limbs while inducing a cephalic fluid shift. While this model has already brought valuable insights to space biology, few studies have directly compared functional decrements in the muscles of males and females during HLS. We exposed 28 adult Wistar rats (14 males and 14 females) to 14 days of HLS or normal loading (NL) to better assess how sex impacts disuse-induced muscle deconditioning. Females better maintained muscle function during HLS than males, as shown by a more moderate reduction in grip strength at 7 days (males: -37.5 ± 3.1%, females: -22.4 ± 6.5%, compared to baseline), that remains stable during the second week of unloading (males: -53.3 ± 5.7%, females: -22.4 ± 5.5%, compared to day 0) while the males exhibit a steady decrease over time (effect of sex × loading p = 0.0002, effect of sex × time × loading p = 0.0099). This was further supported by analyzing the force production in response to a tetanic stimulus. Further functional analyses using force production were also shown to correspond to sex differences in relative loss of muscle mass and CSA. Moreover, our functional data were supported by histomorphometric analyzes, and we highlighted differences in relative muscle loss and CSA. Specifically, female rats seem to experience a lesser muscle deconditioning during disuse than males thus emphasizing the need for more studies that will assess male and female animals concomitantly to develop tailored, effective countermeasures for all astronauts.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.