title: Potential role of the gut microbiota in synthetic torpor and therapeutic hypothermia.
abstract: Therapeutic hypothermia is today used in several clinical settings, among them the gut related diseases that are influenced by ischemia/reperfusion injury. This perspective paved the way to the study of hibernation physiology, in natural hibernators, highlighting an unexpected importance of the gut microbial ecosystem in hibernation and torpor. In natural hibernators, intestinal microbes adaptively reorganize their structural configuration during torpor, and maintain a mutualistic configuration regardless of long periods of fasting and cold temperatures. This allows the gut microbiome to provide the host with metabolites, which are essential to keep the host immunological and metabolic homeostasis during hibernation. The emerging role of the gut microbiota in the hibernation process suggests the importance of maintaining a mutualistic gut microbiota configuration in the application of therapeutic hypothermia as well as in the development of new strategy such as the use of synthetic torpor in humans. The possible utilization of tailored probiotics to mold the gut ecosystem during therapeutic hypothermia can also be taken into consideration as new therapeutic strategy.
authors.affiliation: Claudia Sisa, Roberto Amici, Matteo Cerri, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sisa
authors.affiliation: Claudia Sisa, Roberto Amici, Matteo Cerri, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Turroni
authors.affiliation: Claudia Sisa, Roberto Amici, Matteo Cerri, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Amici
authors.affiliation: Claudia Sisa, Roberto Amici, Matteo Cerri, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brigidi
authors.affiliation: Claudia Sisa, Roberto Amici, Matteo Cerri, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Candela
authors.affiliation: Claudia Sisa, Roberto Amici, Matteo Cerri, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cerri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D006605:Hibernation / Q000502:physiology; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced; D007410:Intestinal Diseases / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy*; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology; D019936:Probiotics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013559:Symbiosis / Q000502:physiology*; D064348:Torpor / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Dysbiosis; Gut microbiota; Hibernation; Synthetic torpor; Therapeutic hypothermia