The Brown Bear and Hibernating Mammals as a Translational Model for Human Resilience: Insights for Space Medicine, Critical Care, and Austere Environments.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review of animal physiological adaptations and preclinical mechanisms without new human data
PubMed 41154837 · doi:10.3390/biology14101434
What was done
This narrative review synthesized physiological and molecular adaptations across hibernating mammals, primarily brown bears (*Ursus arctos*) and thirteen-lined ground squirrels (*Ictidomys tridecemlineatus*), to identify translational strategies for microgravity-induced deconditioning, critical illness, and austere environments.
What was found
The abstract reports qualitative physiological and molecular mechanisms without numerical data. Hibernator adaptations highlighted include reversible insulin resistance, suppression of muscle atrophy genes (*MuRF1* and *Atrogin-1*), cardiac maintenance despite seasonal functional decline, and retinal structural and synaptic preservation. Specific molecular pathways identified include RBM3-dependent synaptic maintenance, RBM20-controlled titin remodeling, mTOR and FOXO regulation, remodeled hydrogen sulfide metabolism, and microbiome-mediated nitrogen salvage.
Why it matters
These hibernation mechanisms provide a biological blueprint for developing proactive interventions—such as synthetic torpor, neuroprotection, and protein-sparing therapies—to counter multisystem deconditioning during spaceflight and intensive care.
Limits
The abstract provides no quantitative metrics or new human empirical data. Translating complex evolutionary adaptations from specialized hibernating mammals to non-hibernating humans presents substantial physiological and clinical hurdles.
Cited by
- supports Hibernating bears and long-distance migrating birds become insulin resistant during fat storage.