Dataset Information

Platelet function in brown bear (Ursus arctos) compared to man.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Information on hemostasis and platelet function in brown bear (Ursus arctos) is of importance for understanding the physiological, protective changes during hibernation. OBJECTIVE:The study objective was to document platelet activity values in brown bears shortly after leaving the den and compare them to platelet function in healthy humans. METHODS:Blood was drawn from immobilized wild brown bears 7-10 days after leaving the den in mid April. Blood samples from healthy human adults before and after clopidogrel and acetylsalicylic acid administration served as control. We analyzed blood samples by standard blood testing and platelet aggregation was quantified after stimulation with various agonists using multiple electrode aggregometry within 3 hours of sampling. RESULTS:Blood samples were collected from 6 bears (3 females) between 1 and 16 years old and from 10 healthy humans. Results of adenosine diphosphate, aspirin, and thrombin receptor activating peptide tests in bears were all half or less of those in humans. Platelet and white blood cell counts did not differ between species but brown bears had more and smaller red blood cells compared with humans. CONCLUSION:Using three different tests, we conclude that platelet function is lower in brown bears compared to humans. Our findings represent the first descriptive study on platelet function in brown bears and may contribute to explain how bears can endure denning without obvious thrombus building. However, the possibility that our findings reflect test-dependent and not true biological variations in platelet reactivity needs further studies.

SUBMITTER: Frobert O

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2893130 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Platelet function in brown bear (Ursus arctos) compared to man.

Fröbert Ole O Christensen Kjeld K Fahlman Asa A Brunberg Sven S Josefsson Johan J Särndahl Eva E Swenson Jon E JE Arnemo Jon M JM

Thrombosis journal 20100602

<h4>Background</h4>Information on hemostasis and platelet function in brown bear (Ursus arctos) is of importance for understanding the physiological, protective changes during hibernation.<h4>Objective</h4>The study objective was to document platelet activity values in brown bears shortly after leaving the den and compare them to platelet function in healthy humans.<h4>Methods</h4>Blood was drawn from immobilized wild brown bears 7-10 days after leaving the den in mid April. Blood samples from h ...[more]

PMID: 20525167

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Project description:Wild animal populations experience selection pressures from both natural and anthropogenic sources. The availability of extensive pedigrees is increasing along with our ability to quantify the heritability and evolvability of phenotypic traits and thus the speed and potential for evolutionary change in wild populations. The environment may also affect gene expressions in individuals, which may in turn affect the potential of phenotypic traits to respond to selection. Knowledge about the relationship between the genetic and environmental components of phenotypic variation is particularly relevant, given ongoing anthropogenically driven global change. Using a quantitative genetic mixed model, we disentangled the genetic and environmental components of phenotypic variance in a large carnivore, the brown bear (Ursus arctos). We combined a pedigree covering ~1,500 individual bears over seven generations with location data from 413 bears, as well as data on bear density, habitat characteristics, and climatic conditions. We found a narrow-sense heritability of 0.24 (95% CrI: 0.06-0.38) for brown bear head size, showing that the trait can respond to selection at a moderate speed. The environment contributed substantially to phenotypic variation, and we partitioned this into birth year (5.9%), nonadditive among-individual genetic (15.0%), and residual (50.4%) environmental effects. Brown bear head circumference showed an evolvability of 0.2%, which can generate large changes in the trait mean over some hundreds of generations. Our study is among the first to quantify heritability of a trait in a hunted large carnivore population. Such knowledge about the degree to which species experiencing hunting can respond to selection is crucial for conservation and to make informed management decisions. We show that including important environmental variables when analyzing heritability is key to understanding the dynamics of the evolutionary potential of phenotypic traits.

Dataset Information

Platelet function in brown bear (Ursus arctos) compared to man.

Publications

Platelet function in brown bear (Ursus arctos) compared to man.

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