Limited Oxidative Stress Favors Resistance to Skeletal Muscle Atrophy in Hibernating Brown Bears (Ursus Arctos)

Blandine Chazarin (1, 2) , Anna Ziemianin (1, 2) , Alina L. Evans (3) , Emmanuelle Meugnier (4) , Emmanuelle Loizon (4) , Isabelle Chery (5) , Jon M. Arnemo (3, 6) , Jon E. Swenson (7) , Guillemette Gauquelin-Koch (2) , Chantal Simon (4) , Stéphane Blanc (5) , Etienne Lefai (4, 8) , Fabrice Bertile (1)

1 DSA-IPHC - Département Sciences Analytiques et Interactions Ioniques et Biomoléculaires
2 Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales
3 Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences
4 CarMeN - Cardiovasculaire, métabolisme, diabétologie et nutrition
5 DEPE-IPHC - Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie
6 Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies
7 Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management
8 UNH - Unité de Nutrition Humaine

Oxidative stress, which is believed to promote muscle atrophy, has been reported to occur in a few hibernators. However, hibernating bears exhibit ecient energy savings and muscle protein sparing, despite long-term physical inactivity and fasting. We hypothesized that the regulation of the oxidant/antioxidant balance and oxidative stress could favor skeletal muscle maintenance in hibernating brown bears. We showed that increased expressions of cold-inducible proteins CIRBP and RBM3 could favor muscle mass maintenance and alleviate oxidative stress during hibernation. Downregulation of the subunits of the mitochondrial electron transfer chain complexes I, II, and III, and antioxidant enzymes, possibly due to the reduced mitochondrial content, indicated a possible reduction of the production of reactive oxygen species in the hibernating muscle. Concomitantly, the upregulation of cytosolic antioxidant systems, under the control of the transcription factor NRF2, and the maintenance of the GSH/GSSG ratio suggested that bear skeletal muscle is not under a significant oxidative insult during hibernation. Accordingly, lower levels of oxidative damage were recorded in hibernating bear skeletal muscles. These results identify mechanisms by which limited oxidative stress may underlie the resistance to skeletal muscle atrophy in hibernatin

Mots clés: brown bears; hibernation; oxidative stress; skeletal muscle; cold response; NRF2

Domaines: Sciences de l'environnement

Blandine Chazarin, Anna Ziemianin, Alina L. Evans, Emmanuelle Meugnier, Emmanuelle Loizon, et al.. Limited Oxidative Stress Favors Resistance to Skeletal Muscle Atrophy in Hibernating Brown Bears (Ursus Arctos). Antioxidants , 2019, 8 (9), pp.334. ⟨10.3390/antiox8090334⟩. ⟨hal-02274540⟩