Hypothesis and Theory: A Two-Process Model of Torpor-Arousal Regulation in Hibernators.

ABSTRACT: Hibernating mammals drastically lower their metabolic rate (MR) and body temperature (T_b) for up to several weeks, but regularly rewarm and stay euthermic for brief periods. It has been hypothesized that the necessity for rewarming is due to the accumulation or depletion of metabolites, or the accrual of cellular damage that can be eliminated only in the euthermic state. Recent evidence for significant inverse relationships between the duration of torpor bouts (TBD) and MR in torpor strongly supports this hypothesis. We developed a new mathematical model that simulates hibernation patterns. The model involves an hourglass process H (Hibernation) representing the depletion/accumulation of a crucial enzyme/metabolite, and a threshold process H_thr. Arousal, modelled as a

SUBMITTER: Ruf T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9266152 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature