Hibernation and Longevity in the Turkish Hamster
            <i>Mesocricetus brandti</i>

Lyman, Charles P.; O'Brien, RC; Greene, GC; Papafrangos, ED

doi:10.1126/science.7221552

Cited by 147 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Hamsters conserve energy during winter by hibernating and reducing their body temperatures. Lyman (1981) observed that if Turkish hamsters Mesocricetus brandti in the laboratory were prevented from hibernating then their increased energy expenditure and increased body temperatures were associated with a decrease in their lifespan.…”

Section: (Iii) Environmental Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body size, energy metabolism and lifespan

Speakman

2005

Journal of Experimental Biology

731

637

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Bigger animals live longer. The scaling exponent for the relationship between lifespan and body mass is between 0.15 and 0.3. Bigger animals also expend more energy, and the scaling exponent for the relationship of resting metabolic rate (RMR) to body mass lies somewhere between 0.66 and 0.8. Mass-specific RMR therefore scales with a corresponding exponent between -0.2 and -0.33. Because the exponents for mass-specific RMR are close to the exponents for lifespan, but have opposite signs, their product (the mass-specific expenditure of energy per lifespan) is independent of body mass (exponent between -0.08 and 0.08). This means that across species a gram of tissue on average expends about the same amount of energy before it dies regardless of whether that tissue is located in a shrew, a cow, an elephant or a whale. This fact led to the notion that ageing and lifespan are processes regulated by energy metabolism rates and that elevating metabolism will be associated with premature mortalitythe rate of living theory.The free-radical theory of ageing provides a potential mechanism that links metabolism to ageing phenomena, since oxygen free radicals are formed as a by-product of oxidative phosphorylation. Despite this potential synergy in these theoretical approaches, the free-radical theory has grown in stature while the rate of living theory has fallen into disrepute. This is primarily because comparisons made across classes (for example, between birds and mammals) do not conform to the expectations, and even within classes there is substantial interspecific variability in the mass-specific expenditure of energy per lifespan. Using interspecific data to test the rate of living hypothesis is, however, confused by several major problems. For example, appeals that the resultant lifetime expenditure of energy per gram of tissue is 'too variable' depend on the biological significance rather than the statistical significance of the variation observed. Moreover, maximum lifespan is not a good marker of ageing and RMR is not a good measure of total energy metabolism. Analysis of residual lifespan against residual RMR reveals no significant relationship. However, this is still based on RMR.A novel comparison using daily energy expenditure (DEE), rather than BMR, suggests that lifetime expenditure of energy per gram of tissue is NOT independent of body mass, and that tissue in smaller animals expends more energy before expiring than tissue in larger animals. Some of the residual variation in this relationship in mammals is explained by ambient temperature. In addition there is a significant negative relationship between residual lifespan and residual daily energy expenditure in mammals. A potentially much better model to explore the links of body size, metabolism and ageing is to examine the intraspecific links. These studies have generated some data that support the original rate of living theory and other data that conflict. In particular several studies have shown that manipulating animals to expend more or less energy ...

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Section: (Iii) Environmental Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body size, energy metabolism and lifespan

Speakman

2005

Journal of Experimental Biology

731

637

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“…The reduction of body temperature in CR rodents is similar to the torpor observed in hibernating animals. Studies in both hamsters and reptiles (39,40) have demonstrated a positive relationship between time spent hibernating and life span.…”

Section: Bioenergeticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond the rodent model: Calorie restriction in rhesus monkeys

Lane

Ingram

Roth

1997

AGE

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Lifespan extension and reduction of age-related disease by calorie restriction (CR) are among the most consistent findings in gerontological research. The well known effects of CR have been demonstrated many times in rodents and other short-lived species. However, effects of CR on aging in longerlived species, more closely related to humans, were unknown until recently. Studies of CR and aging using nonhuman primates (rhesus monkeys) were begun several years ago at the National Institute on Aging, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Maryland. These studies are beginning to yield useful data regarding the effects of this nutritional intervention in primates. Several studies from these ongoing investigations have shown that rhesus monkeys on CR exhibit physiological responses to CR that parallel findings in rodents. In addition, several potential biomarkers of aging are being evaluated and preliminary findings suggest the possibility that CR in rhesus monkeys could slow the rate of aging and reduce age-related disease, specifically diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It will be several years before conclusive proof that CR slows aging and extends life span in primates is established, however, results from these exciting studies suggest the possibility that the anti-aging effects of CR reported in rodents also occur in longer-lived species such as nonhuman primates, strenghtening the possibility that this nutritional intervention will also prove beneficial in longer-lived species, including humans.

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“…This suggests that a hibernation-specific mechanism is not required to explain the slower ageing of small hibernating mammals. Despite this, a small number of studies have found strong correlations between the use of daily torpor or hibernation and indices of rate of ageing [6][7][8], suggesting that torpor expression by endothermic animals might have a physiological effect on rates of ageing [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal variation in telomere length of a hibernating rodent

et al. 2013

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Small hibernating rodents have greater maximum lifespans and hence appear to age more slowly than similar-sized non-hibernators. We tested for a direct effect of hibernation on somatic maintenance and ageing by measuring seasonal changes in relative telomere length (RTL) in the edible dormouse Glis glis. Average RTL in our population did not change significantly over the hibernation season, and a regression model explaining individual variation in post-hibernation RTL suggested a significant negative effect of the reduction in body mass over the inactive hibernation period (an index of time spent euthermic), supporting the idea that torpor slows ageing. Over the active season, RTL on average decreased in subadults but increased in adults, supporting previous findings of greater telomere shortening at younger ages. Telomere length increase might also have been associated with reproduction, which occurred only in adults. Our study reveals how seasonal changes in physiological state influence the progress of life-history traits, such as somatic maintenance and ageing, in a small hibernating rodent.

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Hibernation and Longevity in the Turkish Hamster Mesocricetus brandti

Abstract: A positive correlation was found between the length of life of 288 Turkish hamsters and the amount of time spent in hibernation, suggesting that the process of aging is slowed during hibernation.

Cited by 147 publications

References 7 publications

Body size, energy metabolism and lifespan

Body size, energy metabolism and lifespan

Beyond the rodent model: Calorie restriction in rhesus monkeys

Seasonal variation in telomere length of a hibernating rodent

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