Gene expression changes controlling distinct adaptations in the heart and skeletal muscle of a hibernating mammal.

ABSTRACT: Throughout the hibernation season, the thirteen-lined ground squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) experiences extreme fluctuations in heart rate, metabolism, oxygen consumption, and body temperature, along with prolonged fasting and immobility. These conditions necessitate different functional requirements for the heart, which maintains contractile function throughout hibernation, and the skeletal muscle, which remains largely inactive. The adaptations used to maintain these contractile organs under such variable conditions serves as a natural model to study a variety of medically relevant conditions including heart failure and disuse atrophy. To better understand how two different muscle tissues maintain function throughout the extreme fluctuations of hibernation we performed Illumina Hi

SUBMITTER: Vermillion KL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4346737 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature