Dormant Power: The Hibernation Code Hiding in te Human Genome

In a study done by the University of Utah Health, new genetic research proposes that humans carry the same hibernation-related DNA that hibernating mammals have. In hibernators like squirrels, researcher have found that a gene cluster called the fat mass and obesity locus (FTO) plays a significant role. While humans have these genes as well, this region is the strongest genetic risk factor for human obesity. Researchers who identified the hibernator-specific DNA region near the FTO altered neighboring genes, discovering that the FTO locus is critical in metabolism. In hibernator-specific regions in mice, some mutations sped up and slowed down weight gain, while others impacted the mice’s ability to recover body temperature after being in a hibernation-equivalent state. These DNA regions were found not to be genes themselves, but DNA sequences that communicate with genes nearby and alter their expression up and down.

In understanding the hibernator’s ability to change its metabolism, better treatments for human metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes, could be created. In looking at the human potential of hibernator genes, researchers concluded that the hibernator-associated changes in the genome seemed to disrupt the function of certain DNA pieces rather than create a different function. Considering this, it seems that hibernators may have lost constraints that would otherwise stop extreme flexibility in the ability to control metabolism. This means that humans may be on a restrained temperature scale locked to a narrow range of constant energy consumption, while hibernators do not have this lock.

Hibernators also have the capacity to reverse neurodegeneration, stop muscle atrophy, and stay in good health despite fluctuations in weight. The researchers at the University of Utah Health believe their findings show that humans may already have the necessary genetic code to adapt similar behaviors. Finding this hidden hibernator mechanism within the human genome could help to significantly improve our own health.