Abstract
To study processes related to weightlessness in ground-based cell biological research, a microgravity environment is typically simulated with a clinostat – a small laboratory device that rotates cell culture vessels with the aim to average-out the vector of gravitational forces. Here, we report that these rotational movements induce complex fluid motions in the cell culture vessel that can trigger unintended cellular responses. Specifically, we demonstrate that suppression of myotube formation by 2D-clino-rotation is not an effect of a theoretically assumed microgravity but instead is a consequence of fluid motion. Therefore, cell biological results from clino-rotation cannot be attributed to microgravity unless alternative explanations have been rigorously tested and ruled out. In this setting we consider the inclusion of at least two control experiments as mandatory, i) a static, non-rotating control, and ii) a control for fluid motion. Finally, we discuss strategies to minimize spurious fluid motion in clino-rotation experiments.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
