Mechanical unloading by microgravity (or weightlessness) conditions triggers profound adaptation processes at the cellular and organ levels. Among other mechanisms, mechanosensitive ion channels are thought to play a key role in allowing cells to transduce mechanical forces. Previous experiments performed under microgravity have shown that gravity affects the gating properties of ion channels. We developed a new method to record a calcium dependent current in native eggs from the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis oocytes) under microgravity conditions during a parabolic flight.
