Sodium content decreased in the human skeletal bones and rose in the rat bones following space flight. In man copper content rose in the femoral bone and decreased in the vertebral body and the sternum, but was unchanged in the rest of the bones. Magnesium content was decreased in the femoral bone and the sternum, and in the vertebrae, but remained unchanged in the rest of the bones. Possible mechanisms of the changes detected are discussed

Kolesnik, A. G.

Komissarova, N. A.

Prokhonchukov, A. A.

Shakhunov, B. A.

Taitsev, V. P.

Zhizhina, V. A.

English

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EFFECT OF SPACE FLIGHT ON SODIUM, COPPER, MANGANESE AND MAGNESIUM 
CONTENT I N  THE SKELETAL BONES 
A .A. Prokhonehukw , V . P .  Taitsev, B .A.  Shakhunov, N.A. zhfna , 
A.G. Kolesnik, and N.A .  Kamissarova 
Translation of ''Vliyaniye kosmicheskogo poleta na sodexzhaniye 
na triya, mdi ,  margantsa i rnagniya v kostyakh st;.? l e  tau . 
Patologicheekaya Fiziologiya i Ekeperimental'naya Terapiya, 
No. 6, Nov./Dec, 1978, np 65-70 
( I A S A - T H - 7 5 5 0 6 )  EPPBC'II 09 SPACB PLSGRT 011 160-21025 
S O D 1  08, COEP BPI AYGADESB AY D 1 A 6 1 B S I U i  
COETEBT IU TUB SKILBTAL BONES ( l a t i o n a l  
aeronaut i c s  and Space Ldministration) 11 p Onclas 
EC A 0 2 / E F  A 0 1  CSCL 069 65/52 47630 
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 
WASHINGTON, D .C . 20546 OCTOBER 1Q a! 
EFFECT OF SPACE FLIGHT ON SODIUM, COPPER, MANGANESE AND MAGNESIUM 
CONTENT I N  THE SKELETAL BONES 
A .A. Prokhonchukov, V .P. Taitsev, B .A, Shakhunov, N .A. Zhizhina , 
A.G, Kolesnik, and N.A. Komissarova 
The problem of mineral metabolism i n  the organism under condi- /66* 
t ions of apace f l i g h t  continues t o  be the subject of inteusive study. 
The study of calcium metabolism i n  the skeleton 11-31 which is  close- 
ly related t o  the metabolism of other macroelements (sodium, phosphorus 
and others) and microelements i s  especially interesting. It is i n t e r  
res t ing to  study the sodium concentration a s  it is the basic cat ion in 
blood plasma and the extracel lular  t i ssue  f l u id  and par t ic ipates  in E 
the regulation of osmotic pressure i n  these f lu ids  as well as the wa- 
t e r  balance and acid-base equilibrium of the organism. The spongy 
matter of the bony t i ssue  i s  the major and re la t ive ly  l ab i le  sodium 
depot in the organism and contains up to  30% of the t o t a l  sodium COE- 
centration in  the organism. The bony t issue reac t s  t o  sodium loading 
by the selective increase i n  the concentration of t h i s  ion i n  res -  
ponse t o  various stimulants; i n  acidosis and sodium deficiency i n  the 
organism a signif icant  amount of sodium from the bony t i ssue  may be 
mobilized, The sodium concentration i n  the bones i s  re la ted  t o  i t s  
diffusion i n  a hydrated layer and i t s  metabolism a t  the surface of 
crys ta ls  since sodium is  basically localized a t  the surface of crys- 
t a l s .  The major type of sodium metabolism in  the mineral phase of the 
I bony t i ssue  i s  metabolism i n  the surface layer of c rys ta l s  of hydroxy- 
1 apa t i t e ,  With an excess of sodium i n  the hydrate layer of hydroxy- I apat i te  crys ta ls ,  the concentration of phosphorus, a s  one of the basic k * Numbers i n  the margin indicate pagination i n  the foreign text .  
components of the mlneral phase of the bony tirrrue, i s  sharply re -  
duced [S-8, 15, 17, 181. 
The microelements a lso  f u l f i l  an important function i n  the physio- 
i 
logy of the bony t i ssue  by activatixqz G \  se r i e s  of biological ca ta lys t s  
and stimulating metabolic processes <enzymes, hormones, nucleic acids, 
etc.) , Microelements, which are present i n  metal l ic  enzymes, vitamins 
and other highly act ive biopolymers, play an important ro le  i n  the re- 
gulation of metabolic processes in the bony t i ssue  [4, 133. For ex- 
ample, copper, magnesium and manganese act ively part icipate in  the res -  
torat ion of the c rys ta l  l a t t i c e  of hydroxyapatite i n  the bony t i ssue  
and are closely related t o  the metabolism of organic components i n  the 
bone, thus exerting an active e f fec t  on osteogenic ce l lu la r  elenents 
i n  the bony t issue.  These microelements act ively part icipate i n  the 
synthesis of mucopolysaccharides by means of intensive adsorption and 
%. 6 
i i n  the formation of chelate complexes with mucoproteins. They a lso  
t play an important role i n  the synthesis of collagen by the bony tis- 
sue and part icipate i n  the ca ta lys is  of enzyme reactions i n  the os- 
C 
teons, osteoblastic differentiat ion,  e t c ,  Microelements also play 
an important ro le  i n  pathological changes i n  the bony t issue (resorp- 
I t ion, osteoporosis, etc.)  during the prolonged immobilization a t  the 
end, and are therefore used i n  the treatment of pathologies of the 
bone system [4, 9-13, 191. With reference to  the above, the study of 
several macro- and microelements i n  the bony t i ssue  is  of in te res t  i n  
deciphering the intimate mechanisms of the e f fec t  of fac tors  ar is ing 
during space f l igh t .  
< 
Procedure, The tusk of the present invelrtigation comprised the 
study of the concentrations of sodim, copper, manganese and magnesium 
in various bones in  the skeleton: the calcaaaus, the epiphysis m d  dla- 
physis of the femur, the vertebral  body and the sternum (material came 
from the autopsies done on members of the space crew of the o r b i t a l  
s t a t ion  "Salyut-1") . The sodium concentration i n  the bony t i ssue  was 
a lso  studied i n  an experiment on manned-satellite "Kosmos-782" a f t e r  a 
22 day- oo)iit~a8iflight. Sodium was located on flame spectrophotometer 
"Flafokol"' while copper, manganese and magnesium were a termined on 
- -  - - - 
spectrograph ISP-28. Bony t i ssue  f rom autopsy material taken fram 3 
men who died from acute trauma a t  ages 20-40 (without pathologic ana- 
tomically determined signs of i l lnesses  of the in ternal  organs ,qg 
systems) was used as the control for  purposes of comparative analysis. 
In a11,120 samples of bony t i ssue  were examined and t r i p l e  analyses 
were done on each. In order t o  obtain data with the previously s e t  /67 
(not l e s s  than 95%) degree of probability, the examinations were con- 
ducted using mathematical procedures [16] and the number cf para l le l  
t e s t s ,  analyses and other conditions was determined. 
Results and discussion. The sodium concentration in a l l  of the 
bones i n  the t e s t  group was re l iably  lower than that  i n  the control. 
Although deviations are low, considering the re la t ively  low specif ic  
concentration of sodium i n  the bony t i ssue ,  these s t a t i s t i c a l l y  r e l i -  
able changes must be taken into account (Table 1). Completely d i f f e r  
ent resu l t s  were obtained from the experiments conducted on animals. 
One day a f t e r  the completion of the space f l i g h t  the sodium concentre 
t ion i n  the bony t i ssue  of r a t s  increased on an average 63% over that  
i n  the synchronous and l ive  controls. The sodium level  i n  the bony 
----- 
T A B U  8 THE SODIUM CONCENTRATION I N  BONY TISSUE ( I N  2 OF ASH,M*m) 
Note. Here and i n  Table 3: SF - space f l igh t ;  one as- 
ter isk - p<':-l" ; two - ,,< ;' ; three - 7ca,133. . 
t issue i s  normalized 25 days a f t e r  the termination of f l ight  during 
the period of readaptation t o  t e r re s t r i a l  conditions (Table 2). 
TABLE 2 THE SODIUM CONCENTRATION I N  RAT FEMURS 
AFTER SPACE FLIGHT ( I N  % OF 
ASH, .'l*m ) 
BMLabrS bone Bony t issue 
t o t a l  I dense SPOLUZY 
talcaneus I 
norm 
S F  0,88+0,C% 0,87f 0,008 0.88+0,006 
EpiphySi8 of f- 0,80+.O.~~W* 0,81k0,0o9* 0,7920,009. 
norm 0,9720. :ot 0,98~0,ot1 0,8af 0,010 SF 0.80co.o11* 0,7920,012* 0,91f O,OII*** 
Diaphysis of femur 
norm 
SF 
I 
0.97&0.N8 0,9540,01! 
I 
0,8BeO.v10* 0,90&0,01a** 
Vertebral body 
norm 
0,Sf 0.613 0,90f 0,025 
0,69-+0,CU4* 0,70f 0,001' 
S F  
S t e r n u m  
norm 
I I 
0,92kO.C39 0,98-C0,020 0,860,021 
S F  0,8220,014** 0,82+0,018* O.&lrt_O,O24 
Costal bone 0.93&0.i113 0,95,cO,Ol5 v,b9+0,026 
norm 0,8620 15* O.&.jfO,Oli' 0.91 t0.017 
S F  I I 
Group of animals Time of examination a f t e r  end 
. - of f l i & t  
4-8 hours 25 days 
1-st - under condigions 
of space f l ight  0,57-e_0,02n ' 0.27+-0.015 r: 0,37tO.W7 0.;107t10,0OY 2-nd - synchronous pI -.2<o,oo~ P, - ,<n, ( ~ 5  0&i$ 
0,33_tO, 006 o,!?l~rO,O(R ,?if?< &, 
- control P ,  - ,<n , o o ~  p,-,~o. ool )@ , 4 q .  3-rd - l ive control P,  -,<o, (101 P,  -,20,05 ru ., 
- .(,*& 
I 
The copper concentration i n  the bony t i ssue  of the t e s t  group 1 
changed .dbiguously in  various sections of the skeleton: i t  increased 
1 
i n  the epiphysis of the femur by 81-159% and it decreased i n  the ver- 
t ebra l  body by 36% and in the s tem= by 58% in comparison with the 
control. No s t a t i s t i c a l l y  reliablechangm i n  the copper concentration 
were observed i n  the cos ta l  bone, calcaneus o r  epiphysis of the &mrt 
(Table 3). 
The manganese concentration in  the bones of people i n  the t e s t  
group rose basicalry 26-187% w e r  the concentration i n  the control: 
the most clearly expressed increase occurred i n  the diaphysis (38%) 
and the epiphysis (64-1873) of the femur. No s t a t i s t i c a l l y  re l i ab le  
changes in  the manganese concentration were observed i n  the dense lay- 
e r  of the calcaneus or  the spongy part  of the diaphysis of the femur 
i n  comparison with the control (see Table 3). 
The magnesium concentration dropped i n  the dense layer of the 
epiphysis and diaphysis of the femurs, vertebral  body and sternum by 
12-32': i n  comparison wi th  the control;  these deviations appear with 
a suff ic ient ly  high degree of r e l i ab i l i t y .  No substantial  changes 
were noted i n  the calcaneus, while i n  the cos ta l  bone a tendency to  an 
increased magnesium concentration was noted (see Table 3). 
Investigations have shown tha t  changes i n  the concentrat ions of & 
sodium and the microelements studied i n  bony t issue a f t e r  space f l i g h t  
conform to  general regu la r i t i es  which have been determined but shw 
some pecul iar i t ies ,  The direct iom of changes i n  the concentrations of 
sodium and the microelement s differ. The concentrat ion of sodium, 

copper and manganese is  basically increased while that  of magneeiuxn 
is reduced. In isolated skele ta l  boneu no changes i n  the concetitra- 
t ions of microelementu were observed, 
It is in teres t ing t o  compare r e su l t s  fo r  the concentrations of 
sodium i n  human and animal bones, While i n  the f i r s t  case the sodium 
concentration i n  the bones was reduced, i n  the second case ( in  ani- 
mals), the level  was much higher than i n  the control, 
On the basis  of the exis t ing data it i s  s t i l l  d i f f i c u l t  t o  ex- 
plain the r e s u l t s  obtained. We suppose tha t  an increase i n  excretion 
of sod im from the organism is re la ted  t o  active muscular work. On 
board the "Sa1yut;-1" space s ta t ion  the cosmonauts performed a complex 
of physical excercies which were aimed a t  eliminating the undesirable 
effecta of weightlessness and hypokinesis [I] , It is  possible tha t  a s  
a consequence of the muscular load the increased excretion of sodium 
caused i t s  mobilization from the skele ta l  bones, A t  the same time, 
although animals on board the satel1.itc retained re la t ive  motor a c t i -  
v i ty ,  they were deprived of active physical loads. This might have 
led t o  the retention of sodium in  the organism and i t s  f ixat ion i n  the 
skele ta l  bones. In addition, a deviation appears towards an increase 
i n  the phosphorus concentration i n  humn skele ta l  bones a f t e r  prolonged 
space f l i gh t  [I], In these investigations we may see the reverse of 
the well known dependence of changes i n  the sodium-phosphorus balance 
i n  the bony t issue:  a decrease i n  the sodium concentration i n  the sur- 
face layer of hydroxyrpatite c rys ta l s  is  accompanied by an increase i n  
the phosphorus concentration, 
7 
- - 
In animals a f t e r  space f l i gh t  no substantial  changes were ob- 
sewed i n  the phosphorus concentration in  the bones 131. It i s  pos- 
s ib le  that  the act ivat ion of the mineral cort icoid function in  the a 6  
renal  glands (in a s t r e s s  reaction) under conditions of animal space 
f l i gh t  plays a decisive role i n  the mechanism of retaining sodium i n  
the skeletal  bones under these conditions, We must a lso  not exclude 
the poss ibi l i ty  of so-called dry retention of sodium i n  the bony de- 
pot [14, 183. 
On the basis  of the data obtained there i s  no bas is  fo r  consider  
ing the changes i n  the concentrations of sodium and the microelements 
(copper, manganese and magnesium) i n  the skele ta l  bones under the e f -  
fec t  of fac tors  operating in space f l i gh t  t o  be pathological manifes- 
tat ions,  Further study of t h i s  problem is  necessary. However, while 
in previous investigations it was not possible t o  detect substantial  
changes i n  the concentrations of the basic components of bony t i ssue ,  /70 
calcium and phosphorus [I], in  the present investigation deviations 
I 
from the norm were detected i n  the concentrations of sodium and such I 
precise indicators a s  aicrorlements which react  sensitively t o  the ef- i I 
fec t  of various extreme factors 141, For t h i s  reason it i s  necessary 1 
\ 
t o  conduct further  investigations of the intimate mechanisms of reac- 
t ions of the bony t i ssue  to  the e f fec t  of  factoxs operating i n  space 
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Effect of space flight on sodium, copper, manganese and magnesium content in the skeletal bones

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