Third harmonic generation imaging and analysis of the effect of low gravity on the lacuno-canalicular network of mouse bone

The lacuno-canalicular network (LCN) hosting the osteocytes in bone tissue represents a biological signature of the mechanotransduction activity in response to external biomechanical loading. Using third-harmonic generation (THG) microscopy with sub-micrometer resolution, we investigate the impact of microgravity on the 3D LCN structure in mice following space flight. A specific analytical procedure to extract the LCN characteristics from THG images is described for ex vivo studies of bone sections. The analysis conducted in different anatomical quadrants of femoral cortical bone didn’t reveal any statistical differences between the control, habitat control and flight groups, suggesting that the LCN connectivity is not affected by one month space flight. However, significant variations are systematically observed within each sample. We show that our current lack of understanding of the extent of the LCN heterogeneity at the organ level hinders the interpretation of such investigations based on a limited number of samples and we discuss the implications for future biomedical studies.