Neural control of fluid homeostasis is engaged below 10°C in hibernation
Thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) hibernate for several months each winter without access to water, but the mechanisms that maintain fluid homeostasis during hibernation are poorly understood. In torpor, when body temperature (TB) reaches 4°C, squirrels decrease metabolism, slow heart rate, and reduce plasma levels of the antidiuretic hormones arginine vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OXT). Squirrels spontaneously undergo interbout arousal (IBA) every 2 weeks, temporarily recovering an active-like metabolism and a TB of 37°C for up to 48 h. Despite the low levels of AVP and OXT during torpor, profound increases in blood pressure and heart rate during the torpor-IBA transition are not associated with massive fluid loss, suggesting the existence of a mechanism that protects against diuresis at a low TB. Here, we demonstrate that the antidiuretic hormone release pathway is activated by hypothalamic supraoptic nucleus (SON) neurons early in the torpor-arousal transition. SON neuron activity, dense-core vesicle release from the posterior pituitary, and plasma hormone levels all begin to increase before TB reaches 10°C. In vivo fiber photometry of SON neurons from hibernating squirrels, together with RNA sequencing and c-FOS immunohistochemistry, confirms that SON is electrically, transcriptionally, and translationally active to monitor blood osmolality throughout the dynamic torpor-arousal transition. Our work emphasizes the importance of the antidiuretic pathway during the torpor-arousal transition and reveals that the neurophysiological mechanism that coordinates the hormonal response to retain fluid is active at an extremely low TB, which is prohibitive for these processes in non-hibernators. Overall design: Gene expression analysis and differential transcriptomics of the supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus (n = 5 biological replicates) across active (non-hibernating), torpid (hibernating) and interbout arousal (IBA) (hibernating) states in thirteen-lined ground squirrel.