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Altered gene expression related to fuel use and sensory capacity in tanycytes throughout the hibernation season in the golden hamster

ABSTRACT: Hibernation is a physiological and behavioural adaptation that permits survival during periods of reduced food availability and extreme environmental temperatures. This is achieved through cycles of metabolic depression which results in reduced body temperature (torpor) and rewarming (arousal). This cannot be achieved without extensive preparative physiological changes prior to the hibernation season. Dramatic changes in body temperature set-point observed over the hibernation season, pointing towards the hypothalamus, and several lines of evidence implicate a specialised glial cell type, the tanycyte, in hypothalamic control mechanisms linked to metabolic regulation. To investigate changes in tanycytic cell phenotype over the course of the hibernation season, we exposed golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) to short photoperiod (SP) and reduced ambient temperature (8C) and then LASER capture microdissected the tanycytic region from animals at physiologically defined points across the season. RNAseq followed by combined hierarchical clustering and pathway analysis defined major changes in the tanycytic transcriptome linked to physiological status. Our analysis revealed a marked reduction in the expression of genes linked to ciliary assembly and GPCR-signalling during the hibernation season, as well as evidence for a shift towards increased glycolytic metabolism. These aspects all spontaneously reversed in refractory animals which have ceased to express torpor despite continued exposure to SP 8C. Tanycytes sampled mid-torpor show increased expression of immediate-early genes compared to the interbout euthermic state, while genes linked to RNA processing and translation show the reverse. The putative involvement of tanycytes in hibernation control are discussed.

ORGANISM(S): Mesocricetus auratus

PROVIDER: GSE281814 | GEO | 2025/03/27

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Background: Coevolution between pathogens and their hosts decreases host morbidity and mortality. Bats can tolerate viruses which can be lethal to other vertebrate orders, including humans. Bat adaptations to infection include localized immune response, early pathogen sensing, high interferon expression without pathogen stimulation, and regulated inflammatory response. The immune reaction is costly, and bats suppress high-cost metabolism during torpor. In the temperate zone, bats hibernate in winter, utilizing a specific behavioural adaptation to survive detrimental environmental conditions and lack of energy resources. Hibernation torpor involves major physiological changes that pose an additional challenge to bat-pathogen coexistence. Here, we compared bat cellular reaction to viral challenge under conditions simulating hibernation, evaluating the changes between torpor and euthermia. Results: We infected the olfactory nerve-derived cell culture of Myotis myotis with an endemic bat pathogen, European bat lyssavirus 1 (EBLV-1). After infection, the bat cells were cultivated at two different temperatures – 37 ◦ C and 5 ◦ C - to examine the cell response during conditions simulating euthermia and torpor, respectively. The mRNA isolated from the cells was sequenced and analysed for differential gene expression attributable to the temperature and/or infection treatment. In conditions simulating euthermia, infected bat cells produce an excess signalling by multitude of pathways involved in apoptosis and immune regulation influencing proliferation of regulatory cell types which can, in synergy with other produced cytokines, contribute to viral tolerance. We found no up- or downregulated genes expressed in infected cells cultivated at conditions simulating torpor compared to non-infected cells cultivated under the same conditions. When studying the reaction of uninfected cells to the temperature treatment, bat cells show an increased production of heat shock proteins (HSPs) with chaperone activity, improving the bat’s ability to repair molecular structures damaged due to the stress related to the temperature change. Conclusions: The lack of bat cell reaction to infection in conditions simulating hibernation may contribute to the virus tolerance or persistence in bats. Together with the cell damage repair mechanisms induced in response to hibernation, the immune regulation may promote bats’ ability to act as reservoirs of zoonotic viruses such as lyssaviruses.

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Altered gene expression related to fuel use and sensory capacity in tanycytes throughout the hibernation season in the golden hamster

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