Neuropeptide Y induces torpor-like hypothermia in Siberian hamsters

Silencing of ultradian rhythms and metabolic depression during spontaneous daily torpor in Djungarian hamsters

Ultradian rhythms of metabolism, body temperature and activity are attenuated or disappear completely during torpor in Djungarian hamsters, for all three ultradian periodicities (URsmall, URmedium and URlarge). URsmall and URmedium disappear during entrance into torpor, whereas URlarge disappear later or continue with a low amplitude. This suggests a tight functional link between torpor and the expression of ultradian rhythms, i.e. torpor is achieved by suppression of metabolic rate as well as silencing of ultradian rhythms. Spontaneous torpor is often initiated after an ultradian burst of activity and metabolic rate, beginning with a period of motionless rest and accompanied by a decrease of metabolic rate and body temperature. To extend previous findings on the potential role of the adrenergic system on torpor induction we analysed the influence of the ß3-adrenergic agonist Mirabegron on torpor in Djungarian hamsters, as compared to the influence of the ß-adrenergic antagonist Propranolol. Hamsters were implanted with 10 day release pellets of Mirabegron (0.06 mg day-1) or Propranolol (0.3 mg day-1). Mirabegron transiently supressed and accelerated ultradian rhythms but had no effect on torpor behaviour. Propranolol did not affect torpor behaviour nor the expression of ultradian rhythms with the dosage applied during this study.

Comparative transcriptomics of the garden dormouse hypothalamus during hibernation

Torpor or heterothermy is an energy-saving mechanism used by endotherms to overcome harsh environmental conditions. During winter, the garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus) hibernates with multiday torpor bouts and body temperatures of a few degrees Celsius, interrupted by brief euthermic phases. This study investigates gene expression within the hypothalamus, the key brain area controlling energy balance, adding information on differential gene expression potentially relevant to orchestrate torpor. A de novo assembled transcriptome of the hypothalamus was generated from garden dormice hibernating under constant darkness without food and water at 5 °C. Samples were collected during early torpor, late torpor, and interbout arousal. During early torpor, 765 genes were differentially expressed as compared with interbout arousal. Twenty-seven pathways were over-represented, including pathways related to hemostasis, extracellular matrix organization, and signaling of small molecules. Only 82 genes were found to be differentially expressed between early and late torpor, and no pathways were over-represented. During late torpor, 924 genes were differentially expressed relative to interbout arousal. Despite the high number of differentially expressed genes, only 10 pathways were over-represented. Of these, eight were also observed to be over-represented when comparing early torpor and interbout arousal. Our results are largely consistent with previous findings in other heterotherms. The addition of a transcriptome of a novel species may help to identify species-specific and overarching torpor mechanisms through future species comparisons.

Role of glucose in daily torpor of Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus): challenge of continuous in vivo blood glucose measurements

Djungarian hamsters use daily torpor to save energy during winter. This metabolic downstate is part of their acclimatization strategy in response to short photoperiod and expressed spontaneously without energy challenges. During acute energy shortage, torpor incidence, depth, and duration can be modulated. Torpor induction might rely on glucose availability as acute metabolic energy source. To investigate this, the present study provides the first continuous in vivo blood glucose measurements of spontaneous daily torpor in short photoperiod-acclimated and fasting-induced torpor in long photoperiod-acclimated Djungarian hamsters. Glucose levels were almost identical in both photoperiods and showed a decrease during resting phase. Further decreases appeared during spontaneous daily torpor entrance, parallel with metabolic rate but before body temperature, while respiratory exchange rates were rising. During arousal, blood glucose tended to increase, and pretorpor values were reached at torpor termination. Although food-restricted hamsters underwent a considerable energetic challenge, blood glucose levels remained stable during the resting phase regardless of torpor expression. The activity phase preceding a torpor bout did not reveal changes in blood glucose that might be used as torpor predictor. Djungarian hamsters show a robust, circadian rhythm in blood glucose irrespective of season and maintain appropriate levels throughout complex acclimation processes including metabolic downstates. Although these measurements could not reveal blood glucose as proximate torpor induction factor, they provide new information about glucose availability during torpor. Technical innovations like in vivo microdialysis and in vitro transcriptome or proteome analyses may help to uncover the connection between torpor expression and glucose metabolism.

Peptidomic Analysis Reveals Seasonal Neuropeptide and Peptide Hormone Changes in the Hypothalamus and Pituitary of a Hibernating Mammal

During the winter, hibernating mammals undergo extreme changes in physiology, which allow them to survive several months without access to food. These animals enter a state of torpor, which is characterized by decreased metabolism, near-freezing body temperatures, and a dramatically reduced heart rate. The neurochemical basis of this regulation is largely unknown. Based on prior evidence suggesting that the peptide-rich hypothalamus plays critical roles in hibernation, we hypothesized that changes in specific cell-cell signaling peptides (neuropeptides and peptide hormones) underlie physiological changes during torpor/arousal cycles. To test this hypothesis, we used a mass spectrometry-based peptidomics approach to examine seasonal changes of endogenous peptides that occur in the hypothalamus and pituitary of a model hibernating mammal, the thirteen-lined ground squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus). In the pituitary, we observed changes in several distinct peptide hormones as animals prepared for torpor in October, exited torpor in March, and progressed from spring (March) to fall (August). In the hypothalamus, we observed an overall increase in neuropeptides in October (pre-torpor), a decrease as the animal entered torpor, and an increase in a subset of neuropeptides during normothermic interbout arousals. Notable changes were observed for feeding regulatory peptides, opioid peptides, and several peptides without well-established functions. Overall, our study provides critical insight into changes in endogenous peptides in the hypothalamus and pituitary during mammalian hibernation that were not available from transcriptomic measurements. Understanding the molecular basis of the hibernation phenotype may pave the way for future efforts to employ hibernation-like strategies for organ preservation, combating obesity, and treatment of stroke.

Turn it off and on again: characteristics and control of torpor

Torpor is a hypothermic, hypoactive, hypometabolic state entered into by a wide range of animals in response to environmental challenge. This review summarises the current understanding of torpor. We start by describing the characteristics of the wide-ranging physiological adaptations associated with torpor. Next follows a discussion of thermoregulation, control of food intake and energy expenditure, and the interactions of sleep and thermoregulation, with particular emphasis on how those processes pertain to torpor. We move on to review the evidence for the systems that control torpor entry, including both the efferent circulating factors that signal the need for torpor, and the central processes that orchestrate it. Finally, we consider how the putative circuits responsible for torpor induction integrate with the established understanding of thermoregulation under non-torpid conditions and highlight important areas of uncertainty for future studies.

Comparative transcriptomics of the Djungarian hamster hypothalamus during short photoperiod acclimation and spontaneous torpor

The energy-saving strategy of Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus, Cricetidae) to overcome harsh environmental conditions comprises of behavioral, morphological, and physiological adjustments, including spontaneous daily torpor, a metabolic downstate. These acclimatizations are triggered by short photoperiod and orchestrated by the hypothalamus. Key mechanisms of long-term photoperiodic acclimatizations have partly been described, but specific mechanisms that acutely control torpor remain incomplete. Here, we performed comparative transcriptome analysis on hypothalamus of normometabolic hamsters in their summer- and winter-like state to enable us to identify changes in gene expression during photoperiodic acclimations. Comparing nontorpid and torpid hamsters may also be able to pin down mechanisms relevant for torpor control. A de novo assembled transcriptome of the hypothalamus was generated from hamsters acclimated to long photoperiod or to short photoperiod. The hamsters were sampled either during long photoperiod normothermia, short photoperiod normothermia, or short photoperiod-induced spontaneous torpor with a body temperature of 24.6 ± 1.0 °C, or. The mRNA-seq analysis revealed that 32 and 759 genes were differentially expressed during photoperiod or torpor, respectively. Biological processes were not enriched during photoperiodic acclimatization but were during torpor, where transcriptional and metabolic processes were reinforced. Most extremely regulated genes (those genes with |log2(FC)| > 2.0 and padj < 0.05 of a pairwise group comparison) underpinned the role of known key players in photoperiodic comparison, but these genes exhibit adaptive and protective adjustments during torpor. Targeted analyses of genes from potentially involved hypothalamic systems identified gene regulation of previously described torpor-relevant systems and a potential involvement of glucose transport.

Turn it off and on again: characteristics and control of torpor

Torpor is a hypothermic, hypoactive, hypometabolic state entered into by a wide range of animals in response to environmental challenge. This review summarises the current understanding of torpor. We start by describing the characteristics of the wide-ranging physiological adaptations associated with torpor. Next follows a discussion of thermoregulation, control of food intake and energy expenditure, and the interactions of sleep and thermoregulation, with particular emphasis on how those processes pertain to torpor. We move on to take a critical view of the evidence for the systems that control torpor entry, including both the efferent circulating factors that signal the need for torpor, and the central processes that orchestrate it. Finally, we consider how the putative circuits responsible for torpor induction integrate with the established understanding of thermoregulation under non-torpid conditions and highlight important areas of uncertainty for future studies.

Body Temperature and Activity Adaptation of Short Photoperiod-Exposed Djungarian Hamsters (Phodopus sungorus): Timing, Traits, and Torpor

To survive the Siberian winter, Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) adjust their behavior, morphology, and physiology to maintain energy balance. The reduction of body mass and the improvement of fur insulation are followed by the expression of spontaneous daily torpor, a state of reduced metabolism during the resting phase to save additional energy. Since these complex changes require time, the upcoming winter is anticipated via decreasing photoperiod. Yet, the extent of adaptation and torpor use is highly individual. In this study, adaptation was triggered by an artificially changed light regime under laboratory conditions with 20°C ambient temperature and food and water ad libitum. Two approaches analyzed data on weekly measured body mass and fur index as well as continuously recorded core body temperature and activity during: (1) the torpor period of 60 hamsters and (2) the entire adaptation period of 11 hamsters, aiming to identify parameters allowing (1) a better prediction of torpor expression in individuals during the torpor period as well as (2) an early estimation of the adaptation extent and torpor proneness. In approach 1, 46 torpor-expressing hamsters had a median torpor incidence of 0.3, covering the spectrum from no torpor to torpor every day within one representative week. Torpor use reduced the body temperature during both photo- and scotophase. Torpor was never expressed by 14 hamsters. They could be identified by a high, constant body temperature during the torpor period and a low body mass loss during adaptation to a short photoperiod. Already in the first week of short photoperiod, approach 2 revealed that the hamsters extended their activity over the prolonged scotophase, yet with reduced scotophase activity and body temperature. Over the entire adaptation period, scotophase activity and body temperature of the scoto- and photophases were further reduced, later accompanied by a body mass decline and winter fur development. Torpor was expressed by those hamsters with the most pronounced adaptations. These results provide insights into the preconditions and proximate stimuli of torpor expression. This knowledge will improve experimental planning and sampling for neuroendocrine and molecular research on torpor regulation and has the potential to facilitate acute torpor forecasting to eventually unravel torpor regulation processes.

Dietary proteins improve hibernation and subsequent reproduction in the European hamster, Cricetus cricetus

The reproductive success of hibernators depends not only on food quality during reproduction but also on their body condition when emerging after hibernation, which, in turn, is highly dependent on the hibernation pattern. To date, no studies, to our knowledge, have fully investigated the role of macronutrients throughout the annual lifecycle of hibernators and the strong interdependency between its different phases. This study tested the effects of two diets with different lipid and protein composition on the prehibernation body condition, hibernation pattern, and reproduction of captive-reared European hamsters. Hamsters fed the high-lipid diet gained more body mass in the prehibernation period than those eating the high-protein diet, spent less time in torpor, and thus lost more body mass during hibernation. Despite similar body conditions in both groups at the start of reproduction, the group fed the high-protein diet had higher reproductive success, with more numerous and larger pups than in the high-lipid group. This study reveals that the macronutrient content of diets affects the different phases of the annual lifecycle in hamsters, each of which affects the next. Thus, a high-lipid diet induces less torpor use during hibernation because of a better prehibernation body condition and negatively impacts subsequent reproduction.

Hypothalamic control systems show differential gene expression during spontaneous daily torpor and fasting-induced torpor in the Djungarian hamster (Phodopus sungorus)

Djungarian hamsters are able to use spontaneous daily torpor (SDT) during the winter season as well as fasting-induced torpor (FIT) at any time of the year to cope with energetically challenging environmental conditions. Torpor is a state of severely reduced metabolism with a pronounced decrease in body temperature, which enables animals to decrease their individual energy requirements. Despite sharing common characteristics, such as reduced body mass before first torpor expression and depressed metabolism and body temperature during the torpid state, FIT and SDT differ in several physiological properties including torpor bout duration, minimal body temperature, fuel utilization and circadian organization. It remains unclear, whether SDT and FIT reflect the same phenomenon or two different physiological states. The hypothalamus has been suggested to play a key role in regulating energy balance and torpor. To uncover differences in molecular control mechanisms of torpor expression, we set out to investigate hypothalamic gene expression profiles of genes related to orexigenic (Agrp/Npy), circadian clock (Bmal1/Per1) and thyroid hormone (Dio2/Mct8) systems of animals undergoing SDT and FIT during different torpor stages. Orexigenic genes were mainly regulated during FIT and remained largely unaffected by SDT. Expression patterns of clock genes showed disturbed circadian clock rhythmicity in animals undergoing FIT, but not in animals undergoing SDT. During both, SDT and FIT, decreased Dio2 expression was detected, indicating reduced hypothalamic T3 availability in both types of torpor. Taken together, our results provide evidence that SDT and FIT also differ in certain central control mechanisms and support the observation that animals undergoing SDT are in energetical balance, whereas animals undergoing FIT display a negative energy balance. This should be carefully taken into account when interpreting data in torpor research, especially from animal models of fasting-induced hypometabolism such as mice.

Role of leptin in energy expenditure: the hypothalamic perspective

The adipocyte-derived hormone leptin is a peripheral signal that informs the brain about the metabolic status of an organism. Although traditionally viewed as an appetite-suppressing hormone, studies in the past decade have highlighted the role of leptin in energy expenditure. Leptin has been shown to increase energy expenditure in particular through its effects on the cardiovascular system and brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis via the hypothalamus. The current review summarizes the role of leptin signaling in various hypothalamic nuclei and its effects on the sympathetic nervous system to influence blood pressure, heart rate, and BAT thermogenesis. Specifically, the role of leptin signaling on three different hypothalamic nuclei, the dorsomedial hypothalamus, the ventromedial hypothalamus, and the arcuate nucleus, is reviewed. It is known that all of these brain regions influence the sympathetic nervous system activity and thereby regulate BAT thermogenesis and the cardiovascular system. Thus the current work focuses on how leptin signaling in specific neuronal populations within these hypothalamic nuclei influences certain aspects of energy expenditure.

Transcriptome Analysis of Hypothalamic Gene Expression during Daily Torpor in Djungarian Hamsters (Phodopus sungorus)

Animals living at high or temperate latitudes are challenged by extensive changes in environmental conditions over seasons. Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) are able to cope with extremely cold ambient temperatures and food scarcity in winter by expressing spontaneous daily torpor. Daily torpor is a circadian controlled voluntary reduction of metabolism that can reduce energy expenditure by up to 65% when used frequently. In the past decades it has become more and more apparent, that the hypothalamus is likely to play a key role in regulating induction and maintenance of daily torpor, but the molecular signals, which lead to the initiation of daily torpor, are still unknown. Here we present the first transcriptomic study of hypothalamic gene expression patterns in Djungarian hamsters during torpor entrance. Based on Illumina sequencing we were able to identify a total number of 284 differentially expressed genes, whereby 181 genes were up- and 103 genes down regulated during torpor entrance. The 20 most up regulated group contained eight genes coding for structure proteins, including five collagen genes, dnha2 and myo15a, as well as the procoagulation factor vwf. In a proximate approach we investigated these genes by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis over the circadian cycle in torpid and normothermic animals at times of torpor entrance, mid torpor, arousal and post-torpor. These qPCR data confirmed up regulation of dnah2, myo15a, and vwf during torpor entrance, but a decreased mRNA level for all other investigated time points. This suggests that gene expression of structure genes as well as the procoagulation factor are specifically initiated during the early state of torpor and provides evidence for protective molecular adaptions in the hypothalamus of Djungarian hamsters including changes in structure, transport of biomolecules and coagulation.

Seasonal Control of Mammalian Energy Balance: Recent Advances in the Understanding of Daily Torpor and Hibernation

Endothermic mammals and birds require intensive energy turnover to sustain high body temperatures and metabolic rates. To cope with the energetic bottlenecks associated with the change of seasons, and to minimise energy expenditure, complex mechanisms and strategies are used, such as daily torpor and hibernation. During torpor, metabolic depression and low body temperatures save energy. However, these bouts of torpor, lasting for hours to weeks, are interrupted by active 'euthermic' phases with high body temperatures. These dynamic transitions require precise communication between the brain and peripheral tissues to defend rheostasis in energetics, body mass and body temperature. The hypothalamus appears to be the major control centre in the brain, coordinating energy metabolism and body temperature. The sympathetic nervous system controls body temperature by adjustments of shivering and nonshivering thermogenesis, with the latter being primarily executed by brown adipose tissue. Over the last decade, comparative physiologists have put forward integrative studies on the ecophysiology, biochemistry and molecular regulation of energy balance in response to seasonal challenges, food availability and ambient temperature. Mammals coping with such environments comprise excellent model organisms for studying the dynamic regulation of energy metabolism. Beyond the understanding of how animals survive in nature, these studies also uncover general mechanisms of mammalian energy homeostasis. This research will benefit efforts of translational medicine aiming to combat emerging human metabolic disorders. The present review focuses on recent advances in the understanding of energy balance and its neuronal and endocrine control during the most extreme metabolic fluctuations in nature: daily torpor and hibernation.

The Central Control of Energy Expenditure: Exploiting Torpor for Medical Applications

Autonomic thermoregulation is a recently acquired function, as it appears for the first time in mammals and provides the brain with the ability to control energy expenditure. The importance of such control can easily be highlighted by the ability of a heterogeneous group of mammals to actively reduce metabolic rate and enter a condition of regulated hypometabolism known as torpor. The central neural circuits of thermoregulatory cold defense have been recently unraveled and could in theory be exploited to reduce energy expenditure in species that do not normally use torpor, inducing a state called synthetic torpor. This approach may represent the first steps toward the development of a technology to induce a safe and reversible state of hypometabolism in humans, unlocking many applications ranging from new medical procedures to deep space travel.

The Chemistry of Cold: Mechanisms of Torpor Regulation in the Siberian Hamster

Siberian hamsters use spontaneous daily torpor, a state of hypometabolism and hypothermia, to save energy during winter. Multiple neuroendocrine signals set the scene for spontaneous torpor to occur, and several brain areas have been identified as potential sites for torpor regulation. Here, we summarize the known mechanisms of a fascinating physiological state in the Siberian hamster.

Distinct networks of leptin- and insulin-sensing neurons regulate thermogenic responses to nutritional and cold challenges

Defense of core body temperature (Tc) can be energetically costly; thus, it is critical that thermoregulatory circuits are modulated by signals of energy availability. Hypothalamic leptin and insulin signals relay information about energy status and are reported to promote thermogenesis, raising the possibility that they interact to direct an appropriate response to nutritional and thermal challenges. To test this idea, we used an Nkx2.1-Cre driver to generate conditional knockouts (KOs) in mice of leptin receptor (L(2.1)KO), insulin receptor (I(2.1)KO), and double KOs of both receptors (D(2.1)KO). L(2.1)KOs are hyperphagic and obese, whereas I(2.1)KOs are similar to controls. D(2.1)KOs exhibit higher body weight and adiposity than L(2.1)KOs, solely due to reduced energy expenditure. At 20-22°C, fed L(2.1)KOs maintain a lower baseline Tc than controls, which is further decreased in D(2.1)KOs. After an overnight fast, some L(2.1)KOs dramatically suppress energy expenditure and enter a torpor-like state; this behavior is markedly enhanced in D(2.1)KOs. When fasted mice are exposed to 4°C, L(2.1)KOs and D(2.1)KOs both mount a robust thermogenic response and rapidly increase Tc. These observations support the idea that neuronal populations that integrate information about energy stores to regulate the defense of Tc set points are distinct from those required to respond to a cold challenge.

Energy intake and the circadian rhythm of core body temperature in sheep

We tested the hypothesis that different levels of energy intake would alter the circadian rhythm of core body temperature (T_c) in ovariectomized sheep. We measured arterial blood temperature every 5 min while ten sheep were offered a maintenance diet, 70% of maintenance requirements, or 150% of maintenance requirements, for 12 days, and later fasted for 2 days. The rhythmicity of T_c was analyzed for its dominant period and then a least-squares cosine wave was fitted to the data that generated a mesor, amplitude, and acrophase for the rhythm. When energy intake was less than maintenance requirements we observed a significant decrease in the mesor and minimum, and a significant increase in the amplitude and goodness of fit, of the body temperature rhythm. Fasting also resulted in a decrease in the maximum of the body temperature rhythm. Feeding the sheep to excess did not affect the mesor or maximum of the rhythm, but did result in a decrease in the goodness of fit of the rhythm in those sheep that consumed more energy than when they were on the maintenance diet, indicating that circadian rhythmicity was decreased when energy intake increased. Our data indicate that modulation of the circadian rhythm of body temperature, characterized by inactive-phase hypothermia, occurs when energy intake is reduced. The response may be an adaptation to energy imbalance in large mammals.

Hypothalamic plasticity of neuropeptide Y is lacking in brain-type creatine kinase double knockout mice with defective thermoregulation

The neural substrate of adaptive thermoregulation in mice lacking both brain-type creatine kinase isoforms is further investigated. The cytosolic brain-type creatine kinase (CK-B) and mitochondrial ubiquitous creatine kinase (UbCKmit) are expressed in neural cells throughout the central and peripheral nervous system, where they have an important role in cellular energy homeostasis. Several integral functions appear altered when creatine kinases are absent in the brain (Jost et al., 2002; Streijger et al., 2004, 2005), which has been explained by inefficient neuronal transmission. The CK--/-- double knockout mice demonstrate every morning a body temperature drop of ~1.0 °C, and they have impaired thermogenesis, as revealed by severe hypothermia upon cold exposure. This defective thermoregulation is not associated with abnormal food intake, decreased locomotive activity, or increased torpor sensitivity. Although white and brown adipose tissue fat pads are diminished in CK--/-- mice, intravenous norepinephrine infusion results in a normal brown adipose tissue response with increasing core body temperatures, indicating that the sympathetic innervation functions correctly (Streijger et al., 2009). This study revealed c-fos changes following a cold challenge, and that neuropeptide Y levels were decreased in the paraventricular nucleus of wildtype, but not CK--/--, mice. A reduction in hypothalamic neuropeptide Y is coupled to increased uncoupling protein 1 expression in brown adipose tissue, resulting in thermogenesis. In CK--/-- mice the neuropeptide Y levels did not change. This lack of hypothalamic plasticity of neuropeptide Y might be the result of inefficient neuronal transmission or can be explained by the previous observation of reduced circulating levels of leptin in CK--/-- mice.

Central adenosine receptor signaling is necessary for daily torpor in mice

When calorically restricted at cool ambient temperatures, mice conserve energy by entering torpor, during which metabolic rate (MR), body temperature (T(b)), heart rate (HR), and locomotor activity (LMA) decrease. Treatment with exogenous adenosine produces a similar hypometabolic state. In this study, we conducted a series of experiments using the nonspecific adenosine receptor antagonists aminophylline and 8-sulfophenyltheophylline (8-SPT) to test the hypothesis that adenosine signaling is necessary for torpor in fasted mice. In the first experiment, mice were subcutaneously infused with aminophylline while T(b), HR, and LMA were continuously monitored using implanted radiotelemeters. During a 23-h fast, saline-treated mice were torpid for 518 ± 43 min, whereas aminophylline-treated mice were torpid for significantly less time (54 ± 20 min). In a second experiment, aminophylline was infused subcutaneously into torpid mice to test the role of adenosine in the maintenance of torpor. Aminophylline reversed the hypometabolism, hypothermia, bradycardia, and hypoactivity of torpor, whereas saline did not. In the third and fourth experiments, the polar adenosine antagonist 8-SPT, which does not cross the blood-brain barrier, was infused either subcutaneously or intracerebroventricularly to test the hypothesis that both peripheral and central adenosine receptor signaling are necessary for the maintenance of torpor. Intracerebroventricular, but not subcutaneous, infusion of 8-SPT causes a return to euthermia. These findings support the hypothesis that adenosine is necessary for torpor in mice and further suggest that whereas peripheral adenosine signaling is not necessary for the maintenance of torpor, antagonism of central adenosine is sufficient to disrupt torpor.

Induction of torpor: mimicking natural metabolic suppression for biomedical applications

Mammalian hibernation consists of periods of depressed metabolism and reduced body temperature called "torpor" that are interspersed by normothermic arousal periods. Numerous cellular processes are halted during torpor, including transcription, translation, and ion homeostasis. Hibernators are able to survive long periods of low blood flow and body temperature followed by rewarming and reperfusion without overt signs of organ injury, which makes these animals excellent models for application of natural protective mechanisms to human medicine. This review examines efforts to induce torpor-like states in non-hibernating species using pharmacological compounds. Elucidating the underlying mechanisms of natural and pharmacologically induced torpor will speed the development of new clinical approaches to treat a variety of trauma and stress states in humans.

To eat or not to eat: the effect of AICAR on food intake regulation in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris)

Mammals that hibernate (hibernators) exhibit a circannual rhythm of food intake and body mass. In the laboratory during the winter hibernation period, many hibernators enter a series of multi-day torpor bouts, dropping their body temperature to near ambient, and cease to feed even if food is present in their cage. The mechanism(s) that regulates food intake in hibernators is unclear. Recently, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has been shown to play a key role in the central regulation of food intake in mammals. We hypothesized that infusing an AMPK activator, 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide 1 B-D-ribofuranoside (AICAR), intracerebroventricularly (ICV) into the third ventricle of the hypothalamus would stimulate yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) to feed during their hibernation season. Infusion of AICAR ICV into marmots at an ambient temperature of 22 degrees C caused a significant (P<0.05) increase in food intake. In addition, animals stimulated to feed did not enter torpor during the infusion period. Marmots ICV infused with saline did not increase food intake and these animals continued to undergo torpor at an ambient temperature of 22 degrees C. Our results suggest that AICAR stimulated the food intake pathway, presumably by activating AMPK. These results support the hypothesis that AMPK may be involved in regulating food intake in hibernators and that there may be common neural pathways involved in regulating feeding and eliciting torpor.

Endocrine mechanisms of seasonal adaptation in small mammals: from early results to present understanding

Seasonal adaptation is widespread among mammals of temperate and polar latitudes. The changes in physiology, morphology and behaviour are controlled by the photoneuroendocrine system that, as a first step, translates day lengths into a hormonal signal (melatonin). Decoding of the humoral melatonin signal, i.e. responses on the cellular level to slight alterations in signal duration, represents the prerequisite for appropriate timing of winter acclimatization in photoperiodic animals. Corresponding to the diversity of affected traits, several hormone systems are involved in the regulation downstream of the neural integration of photoperiodic time measurement. Results from recent studies provide new insights into seasonal control of reproduction and energy balance. Most intriguingly, the availability of thyroid hormone within hypothalamic key regions, which is a crucial determinant of seasonal transitions, appears to be regulated by hormone secretion from the pars tuberalis of the pituitary gland. This proposed neuroendocrine pathway contradicts the common view of the pituitary as a gland that acts downstream of the hypothalamus. In the present overview of (neuro)endocrine mechanisms underlying seasonal acclimatization, we are focusing on the dwarf hamster Phodopus sungorus (long-day breeder) that is known for large amplitudes in seasonal changes. However, important findings in other mammalian species such as Syrian hamsters and sheep (short-day breeder) are considered as well.

Physiological mechanisms for food-hoarding motivation in animals

The study of ingestive behaviour has an extensive history, starting as early as 1918 when Wallace Craig, an animal behaviourist, coined the terms 'appetitive' and 'consummatory' for the two-part sequence of eating, drinking and sexual behaviours. Since then, most ingestive behaviour research has focused on the neuroendocrine control of food ingestion (consummatory behaviour). The quantity of food eaten, however, is also influenced by the drive both to acquire and to store food (appetitive behaviour). For example, hamster species have a natural proclivity to hoard food and preferentially alter appetitive ingestive behaviours in response to environmental changes and/or metabolic hormones and neuropeptides, whereas other species would instead primarily increase their food intake. Therefore, with the strong appetitive component to their ingestive behaviour that is relatively separate from their consummatory behaviour, they seem an ideal model for elucidating the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying the control of food hoarding and foraging. This review focuses on the appetitive side of ingestive behaviour, in particular food hoarding, attempting to integrate what is known about the neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating this relatively poorly studied behaviour. An hypothesis is formed stating that the direction of 'energy flux' is a unifying factor for the control of food hoarding.

FGF21: a novel prospect for the treatment of metabolic diseases

The increasing prevalence of metabolic diseases is alarming and highlights the need for more effective and safer therapies to treat these diseases. Recent evidence from several animal studies indicates that FGF21 induces numerous beneficial metabolic changes without apparent adverse effects. These results suggest that FGF21 could be a novel and attractive drug candidate for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes. The pharmacology of FGF21, molecular mechanisms contributing to the actions of this compound, and knowledge gaps to be addressed to allow further exploration of the therapeutic potential of this molecule are discussed in this review.

Effect of food availability and leptin on the physiology and hypothalamic gene expression of the golden spiny mouse: a desert rodent that does not hoard food

Food availability and quality in desert habitats are spatially and temporally unpredictable, and animals face periods of food shortage. The golden spiny mouse ( Acomys russatus) is an omnivorous desert rodent that does not hoard food, requiring it to withstand such periods by physiological means alone. In response to food restriction, plasma leptin concentrations, core body temperature, and energy expenditure of the spiny mouse decrease significantly after 24 h, and most spiny mice are able to maintain their body mass to ∼85% of ad libitum for a prolonged period of time. Both 1-day food deprivation and long-term food restriction had a significant effect on body mass and plasma leptin concentrations, which decreased significantly with a high correlation, as well as on the orexigenic agouti-related protein, which increased significantly as a result of the 24-h food deprivation; and on neuropeptide Y (NPY), in which the increase was more pronounced under long-term food restriction. Food restriction and food deprivation had no effect, however, on the anorexigenic pro-opiomelanocortin and cocaine and amphetamine-related transcript. Leptin administration to food-restricted spiny mice did not affect food intake or the rate of decrease in body mass, indicating that it cannot overcome the drive to eat when food is scarce. However, it did result in a significant decrease in NPY levels, and the spiny mice spent less time at low body temperatures compared with PBS-treated golden spiny mice. These results show that in food-restricted golden spiny mice, leptin affects thermogenesis, but not food consumption, and suggest that the thermoregulatory effects of leptin are mediated by NPY.

The pharmacology and molecular mechanisms underlying temperature regulation and torpor

The ability to enter a hypometabolic state upon restriction of caloric intake is pivotal for animal survival: balancing the energy budget in endotherms can be a real struggle when food is not available and/or the demand for heat production to maintain homeothermy becomes excessive. Bouts of torpor, characterized by metabolic rates well below a basal metabolic rate and core body temperatures that may be just a few degrees above the ambient temperature, are utilized among many organisms across the animal kingdom, including those that could be described as typical laboratory animals, like the mouse or hamster. Daily heterotherms, which are the focus of this commentary, enter shallow torpor bouts and do so usually under acute food shortage conditions and a relatively cool environment. Due to their small size, the body temperature of these animals is very responsive to food deprivation, pharmacological inhibition of metabolic rate, and cardiovascular depressants. This commentary examines recent developments concerning the neuroendocrine mechanisms in place that may mediate fasting-induced torpor in daily heterotherms. Further this commentary highlights pharmacological induction of hypothermia in small mammals.

NPY Y1 receptor antagonist prevents NPY-induced torporlike hypothermia in cold-acclimated Siberian hamsters

Siberian hamsters ( Phodopus sungorus) undergo bouts of daily torpor during which body temperature decreases by as much as 20°C and provides a significant savings in energy expenditure. Natural torpor in this species is normally triggered by winterlike photoperiods and low ambient temperatures. Intracerebroventricular injection of neuropeptide Y (NPY) reliably induces torporlike hypothermia that resembles natural torpor. NPY-induced torporlike hypothermia is also produced by intracerebroventricular injections of an NPY Y1 receptor agonist but not by injections of an NPY Y5 receptor agonist. In this research, groups of cold-acclimated Siberian hamsters were either coinjected with a Y1 receptor antagonist (1229U91) and NPY or were coinjected with a Y5 receptor antagonist ( CGP71683 ) and NPY in counterbalanced designs. Paired vehicle + NPY induced torporlike hypothermia in 92% of the hamsters, whereas coinjection of Y1 antagonist + NPY induced torporlike hypothermia in 4% of the hamsters. In contrast, paired injections of vehicle + NPY and Y5 antagonist + NPY induced torporlike hypothermia in 100% and 91% of the hamsters, respectively. Although Y5 antagonist treatment alone had no effect on body temperature, Y1 antagonist injections produced hyperthermia compared with controls. Both Y1 antagonist and Y5 antagonist injections significantly reduced food ingestion 24 h after treatment. We conclude that activation of NPY 1 receptors is both sufficient and necessary for NPY-induced torporlike hypothermia.

Monosodium glutamate-induced arcuate nucleus damage affects both natural torpor and 2DG-induced torpor-like hypothermia in Siberian hamsters

Siberian hamsters ( Phodopus sungorus) have the ability to express daily torpor and decrease their body temperature to ∼15°C, providing a significant savings in energy expenditure. Daily torpor in hamsters is cued by winterlike photoperiods and occurs coincident with the annual nadirs in body fat reserves and chronic leptin concentrations. To better understand the neural mechanisms underlying torpor, Siberian hamster pups were postnatally treated with saline or MSG to ablate arcuate nucleus neurons that likely possess leptin receptors. Body temperature was studied telemetrically in cold-acclimated (10°C) male and female hamsters moved to a winterlike photoperiod (10:14-h light-dark cycle) ( experiments 1 and 2) or that remained in a summerlike photoperiod (14:10-h light-dark cycle) ( experiment 3). In experiment 1, even though other photoperiodic responses persisted, MSG-induced arcuate nucleus ablations prevented the photoperiod-dependent torpor observed in saline-treated Siberian hamsters. MSG-treated hamsters tended to possess greater fat reserves. To determine whether reductions in body fat would increase frequency of photoperiod-induced torpor after MSG treatment, hamsters underwent 2 wk of food restriction (70% of ad libitum) in experiment 2. Although food restriction did increase the frequency of torpor in both MSG- and saline-treated hamsters, it failed to normalize the proportion of MSG-treated hamsters undergoing photoperiod-dependent torpor. In experiment 3, postnatal MSG treatments reduced the proportion of hamsters entering 2DG-induced torpor-like hypothermia by ∼50% compared with saline-treated hamsters (38 vs. 72%). In those MSG-treated hamsters that did become hypothermic, their minimum temperature during hypothermia was significantly greater than comparable saline-treated hamsters. We conclude that 1) arcuate nucleus mechanisms mediate photoperiod-induced torpor, 2) food-restriction-induced torpor may also be reduced by MSG treatments, and 3) arcuate nucleus neurons make an important, albeit partial, contribution to 2DG-induced torpor-like hypothermia.

3-Iodothyronamine: a novel hormone controlling the balance between glucose and lipid utilisation

3-Iodothyronamine is considered as a derivate of thyroid hormone as a result of enzymatic deiodination and decarboxylation. The physiological role of thyronamine (T1AM) is not known. The aim of this study was to analyze the metabolic response to T1AM in the Djungarian hamster Phodopus sungorus. We measured the influence of T1AM (50 mg/kg) on metabolic rate (VO(2)), body temperature (T (b)) and respiratory quotient (RQ) in this species and in BL/6 mice. T1AM treated hamsters as well as the mice showed a rapid decrease in VO(2) and T (b), accompanied by a reduction of RQ from normal values of about approximately 0.9 to approximately 0.70 for several hours. This indicates that carbohydrate utilisation is blocked by the injection of T1AM and that metabolic pathways are rerouted from carbohydrate to lipid utilisation in response to T1AM. This assumption was further supported by the observation that the treatment of T1AM caused ketonuria and a significant loss of body fat. Our results indicate that T1AM has the potential to control the balance between glucose and lipid utilisation in vivo.

Fos-like immunoreactivity in Siberian hamster brain during initiation of torpor-like hypothermia induced by 2DG

Systemic 2-deoxy-d-glucose (2DG) produces pronounced torpor-like hypothermia (not< approximately 15 degrees C) in the Siberian hamster. Siberian hamsters are heterothermic, naturally undergoing photoperiod-dependent torpor during winter-like photoperiods. Fos was used to identify neural structures activated during the initiation of torpor-like hypothermia induced by 2DG treatment. The Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-li) in the area postrema and nucleus of the solitary tract that predominantly characterizes other 2DG-induced responses was absent during 2DG-induced torpor in the present experiment. Fos-li was seen in a number of forebrain and hindbrain sites during entry into hypothermia, but the densest Fos-li was found in the parvocellular portion of the paraventricular nucleus. Fos-li in the medial nucleus of the amygdala and the dorsal lateral septum also distinguished 2DG-induced torpor from other 2DG-induced behaviors. The possible involvement of neuropeptide Y pathways during 2DG-induced expression of reversible hypothermia is discussed.

Neuropeptide Y facilitates activity-based-anorexia

The hypothesis that treatment with neuropeptide Y (NPY) can increase running activity and decrease food intake and body weight was tested. Female rats with a running wheel lost more weight than sedentary rats and ran progressively more as the availability of food was gradually reduced. When food was available for only 1h/day, the rats lost control over body weight. Correlatively, the level of NPY mRNA was increased in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus. This phenomenon, activity-based-anorexia, was enhanced by intracerebroventricular infusion of NPY in rats which had food available during 2h/day. By contrast, NPY stimulated food intake but not wheel running in rats which had food available continuously. These findings are inconsistent with the prevailing theory of the role of the hypothalamus in the regulation of body weight according to which food intake is a homeostatic process controlled by "orexigenic" and "anorexigenic" neural networks. However, the finding that treatment with NPY, generally considered an "orexigen", can increase physical activity and decrease food intake and cause a loss of body weight is in line with the clinical observation that patients with anorexia nervosa are physically hyperactive and eat only little food despite having depleted body fat and up-regulated hypothalamic "orexigenic" peptides.

ICV NPY Y1 receptor agonist but not Y5 agonist induces torpor-like hypothermia in cold-acclimated Siberian hamsters

The reduced metabolism derived from daily torpor enables numerous small mammals, including Siberian hamsters, to survive periods of energetic challenge. Little is known of the neural mechanisms underlying the initiation and expression of torpor. Hypothalamic neuropeptide Y (NPY) contributes to surviving energetic challenges by both increasing food ingestion and reducing metabolic expenditure. Intracerebroventricular injections of NPY in cold-acclimated Siberian hamsters induce torpor-like hypothermia comparable to natural torpor. Multiple NPY receptor subtypes have been identified, and the Y1 receptor and Y5 receptor both contribute to the orexigenic effect of NPY. The purpose of this research was to compare and contrast the effects of Y1 receptor activation by a specific Y1 agonist ([d-Arg25]-NPY) or Y5 receptor activation by a specific Y5 agonist ([d-Trp34]-NPY) on body temperature and subsequent food intake in cold-acclimated Siberian hamsters. Intracerebroventricular injections of Y1 agonist produced torporlike hypothermia closely resembling that induced by intracerebroventricular NPY. The intracerebroventricular Y5 agonist infrequently produced hypothermia reaching criterion for torpor and that failed to resemble either NPY-induced or natural torpor. Combined injections of Y1 and Y5 agonists resulted in hypothermia comparable to Y5 agonist treatments alone, negating the mimicry of NPY treatment seen with Y1 agonist alone. Prior treatment with Y1 agonist or Y5 agonist surprisingly had lingering effects on NPY-induced torpor expression, Y1 agonist enhanced and Y5 agonist inhibited the effect of NPY. The ability of NPY to induce torporlike hypothermia, especially its initiation, most likely involves activation of the NPY Y1 receptor subtype.

Peripheral ghrelin deepens torpor bouts in mice through the arcuate nucleus neuropeptide Y signaling pathway

Many small mammals have the ability to enter torpor, characterized by a controlled drop in body temperature (Tb). We hypothesized that ghrelin would modulate torpor bouts, because torpor is induced by fasting in mice coincident with elevated circulating ghrelin. Female National Institutes of Health (NIH) Swiss mice were implanted with a Tb telemeter and housed at an ambient temperature (Ta) of 18 degrees C. On fasting, all mice entered a bout of torpor (minimum Tb: 23.8+/-2.0 degrees C). Peripheral ghrelin administration (100 microg) during fasting significantly deepened the bout of torpor (Tb minimum: 19.4+/-0.5 degrees C). When the arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus, a ghrelin receptor-rich region of the brain, was chemically ablated with monosodium glutamate (MSG), fasted mice failed to enter torpor (minimum Tb=31.6+/-0.6 degrees C). Furthermore, ghrelin administration had no effect on the Tb minimum of ARC-ablated mice (31.8+/-0.8 degrees C). Two major pathways that regulate food intake reside in the ARC, the anorexigenic alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) pathway and the orexigenic neuropeptide Y (NPY) signaling pathway. Both Ay mice, which have the alpha-MSH pathway blocked, and Npy-/-mice exhibited shallow, aborted torpor bouts in response to fasting (Tb minimum: 29.1+/-0.6 degrees C and 29.9+/-1.2 degrees C, respectively). Ghrelin deepened torpor in Ay mice (Tb minimum: 22.8+/-1.3 degrees C), but had no effect in Npy-/-mice (Tb minimum: 29.5+/-0.8 degrees C). Collectively, these data suggest that ghrelin's actions on torpor are mediated via NPY neurons within the ARC.