Establishment and Characterization of GSA-1, a Human Cell Line Highly Susceptible to Apoptosis after Free-fall

The induction of apoptosis by microgravity and/or gravity-changing stress is considered to be one of the important causes of cell death, although the molecular mechanisms of the apoptotic event remain unclarified. In this study, we established a cell line, GSA-1, from ethyl methanesulfonate-treated human RSa cells. GSA-1 cells were highly susceptible to apoptosis after a free-fall; 24.4% of these cells underwent apoptosis after free-fall, compared with only 6% of the RSa cells. The apoptosis of GSA-1 cells was augmented by ultraviolet (UV, principally 254-nm wavelength) irradiation before free-fall to a greater extents than those in RSa cells. The molecular mechanisms of apoptosis included p53 and Bax proteins; the expression of nuclear p53 and cytoplasmic Bax in GSA-1 cells increased at 4 h after free-fall irrespective of irradiation. In addition, the rate of removal of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) in UV-irradiated GSA-1 cells was higher in cells exposed to free-fall than in those under the 1-G condition. Our results suggested that in GSA-1 cells, free-fall accelerates apoptosis, and that this process is associated with the accumulation of p53 and Bax, as well as CPD removal. Thus, GSA-1 cells should be useful for investigating the mechanism of cellular response, including the induction of apoptosis under gravity-changing stress.