Water-fat MRI in a hibernator reveals seasonal growth of white and brown adipose tissue without cold exposure.
Obligate hibernators, such as ground squirrels, display circannual patterns which persist even under constant laboratory conditions, suggesting that they are regulated by endogenous rhythms. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is important for thermogenesis during periodic arousals from hibernation when core body temperature rises spontaneously from 5 to 37 °C. In most small eutherians BAT growth requires several weeks of cold exposure. We hypothesized that in the thirteen-lined ground squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus), a hibernator, BAT growth is regulated, in part, by an endogenous rhythm and we predicted that this growth would precede the hibernation season without cold exposure. We tested this prediction using repeated water-fat magnetic resonance imaging over a year, including the hibernation season. Thoracic BAT depots increased in volume from spring through autumn even though animals were housed at ~22 °C. Subsequent cold exposure (5 °C) enlarged the thoracic BAT further. The fat fraction of this tissue fell significantly during the period of peak growth, indicating relative increases in non-triglyceride components, perhaps mitochondria or vasculature. We also found that the proportion of the body consisting of white adipose tissue (WAT) increased steadily from spring through autumn, and fell throughout hibernation, mirroring changes in body mass. Unlike BAT, WAT fat fractions remained constant (near 90%) throughout the year. Future studies will evaluate the significance of photoperiod and cold exposure on the growth of these tissues. We also found tissue with a fat fraction characteristic of BAT in the head near the eyes, a potentially novel discovery that requires further confirmation.
Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5B8, Canada.
Amanda
A
MacCannell
Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5B8, Canada.
Kevin
K
Sinclair
Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5B8, Canada.
Lannette
L
Friesen-Waldner
Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5B8, Canada.
Charles A
CA
McKenzie
Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5B8, Canada. jfstaple@uwo.ca.
James F
JF
Staples
D002001:Adipose Tissue, Brown / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D052436:Adipose Tissue, White / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D003080:Cold Temperature; D005260:Female; D006605:Hibernation / Q000502:physiology*; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012589:Sciuridae / Q000502:physiology*; D012621:Seasons; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis
D008055:Lipids; D014867:Water
Brown fat; Ground squirrel; Hibernation; Ictidomys; Mammal; Thermogenesis