Experiments from flight- and ground-based model systems suggest that unexpected alterations of the human lymphoblastoid cell line Jurkat, as well as effects on cell growth, metabolism, and apoptosis, can occur in altered gravity conditions. Using a desktop random positioning machine (RPM), we investigated the effects of simulated microgravity on Jurkat cells and their multidrug-resistant subline, Jurkat/A4 cells. The viability of Jurkat/A4 cells decreased after simulated microgravity in contrast with the Jurkat cells. At the same time, the viability between the experimental Jurkat cells and control Jurkat cells was not significantly different. Of note, Jurkat cells appeared as less susceptible to apoptosis than their multidrug-resistant clone Jurkat/A4 cells, whereas cell-cycle analysis showed that the percentage of Jurkat/A4 cells in the S-phase was increased after 72 and 96 h of RPM-simulated microgravity relative to their static counterparts. The differences in Jurkat cells at all phases between static and simulated microgravity were not significant. The surface expression of the intercellular adhesion molecule 3 (ICAM-3)-also known as cluster of differentiation (CD)50-protein was changed for Jurkat/A4 cells following exposure to the RPM. Changes in cell morphology were observed in the Jurkat/A4 cells after 96 h of RPM-simulated microgravity. Thus, we concluded that Jurkat/A4 cells are more sensitive to RPM-simulated microgravity as compared with the parental Jurkat cell line. We also suggest that intercellular adhesion molecule 3 may be an important adhesion molecule involved in the induction of leukocyte apoptosis. The Jurkat/A4 cells with an acquired multidrug resistance phenotype could be a useful model for studying the effects of simulated microgravity and testing anticancer drugs.
Keywords: Jurkat cells; apoptosis; cell cycle; microgravity; random positioning machine.