Dietary Lipids Affect the Onset of Hibernation in the Garden Dormouse ( Eliomys quercinus ): Implications for Cardiac Function

• Published in: Frontiers in physiology 2018-09, Vol.9, p.1235-1235
• Main Authors: Giroud, Sylvain, Stalder, Gabrielle, Gerritsmann, Hanno, Kübber-Heiss, Anna, Kwak, Jae, Arnold, Walter, Ruf, Thomas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: docosahexaenoic acid; fatty acids; hibernation; linoleic acid; Physiology; PUFA; torpor
• ISSN: 1664-042X; 1664-042X
• DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2018.01235

Dietary lipids strongly influence patterns of hibernation in heterotherms. Increased dietary uptake of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), particularly of linoleic acid (LA, C18:2 n-6), enables animals to reach lower body temperatures (T ), lengthens torpor bout duration, and results in lower energy expenditure during hibernation. Conversely, dietary n-3 PUFA impacts negatively on hibernation performance. PUFA in surrounding phospholipids (PLs) presumably modulate the temperature-dependent activity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca ATPase 2 (SERCA2) and thus determine the threshold T still allowing proper heart function during torpor. We tested the effect of diets enriched with 10% of either corn oil ("CO," high n-6 PUFA, e.g., LA) or menhaden oil ["MO," long-chain n-3 PUFA, e.g., docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)] on hibernation performance and SERCA2 activity levels during torpor in garden dormice, an insectivorous, fat-storing hibernator. Prior to hibernation, individuals fed the MO diet showed an almost nine-times higher DHA levels and 30% lower LA proportions in white adipose tissue (WAT), reflecting the fatty acid composition of SR membranes, compared to CO-diet fed animals. When fed the MO diet, dormice significantly delayed their mean onset of hibernation by almost 4 days (range: 0-12 days), compared with CO-diet fed animals. Hibernation onset correlated positively with WAT-DHA levels and negatively with WAT-LA proportions prior to hibernation. Subsequently, hibernating patterns were similar between the two dietary groups, despite a significant difference in WAT-LA but not in WAT-DHA levels in mid-hibernation. SR-PL fatty acid composition and SERCA2 activity were identical in torpid individuals from the two dietary groups in mid-hibernation. In line with our previous findings on Syrian hamsters, a granivorous, food-storing hibernator, SERCA2 activity correlated positively with LA and negatively with DHA levels of SR-PL in torpid dormice, although SERCA2 activity was about three-times higher in garden dormice than in Syrian hamsters at similar PL-DHA proportions. Similarly, minimal T during torpor decreased as SERCA2 activity increased. We conclude that: (1) fatty acid composition of SR membranes modulates cardiac SERCA2 activity, hence determining the minimum T tolerated by hibernators, and (2) high DHA levels prevent hibernators from entering into torpor, but the critical levels differ substantially between species.