Neuronal UCP1 expression suggests a mechanism for local thermogenesis during hibernation.

ABSTRACT: Hibernating mammals possess a unique ability to reduce their body temperature to ambient levels, which can be as low as -2.9 °C, by active down-regulation of metabolism. Despite such a depressed physiologic phenotype, hibernators still maintain activity in their nervous systems, as evidenced by their continued sensitivity to auditory, tactile, and thermal stimulation. The molecular mechanisms that underlie this adaptation remain unknown. We report, using differential transcriptomics alongside immunohistologic and biochemical analyses, that neurons from thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) express mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). The expression changes seasonally, with higher expression during hibernation compared with the summer active state. Functional an

SUBMITTER: Laursen WJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4321293 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature