But, apparently, ferritin is expressed naturally in those hibernating primates. elegans and the neuron cells, we overexpressed ferritin and then showed that it has benefits. ![]() Hibernation is rare among primates, but there are examples of hibernating lemurs in Madagascar. The way the cell works is very similar across species," Ciosk explains. "The physiology IS very different, but at the basic cellular level, many processes are conserved. elegans worm has very little in common with humans. This could open new ways to treat hypothermia and potentially neurodegenerative conditions," Ciosk says. "We were able to show that we can use a very simple model system and identify cold-protective pathways that are conserved in mammalian cells. The researchers also found that mimicking the effect of ferritin with drugs also had beneficial effects for the neurons. "We found that when we induced ferritin in these cells, and exposed them to cold, the ferritin had protective effects," he says. They chose neurons, nerve cells in the brain and nervous system, which are very sensitive cells. Ferritins make huge nano cages that can accommodate thousands of iron atoms, thus making it possible to store and transport iron in a safe and non-toxic way.Ĭiosk explains they also tested whether this may be relevant for the mammalian cells. Iron is an essential element for us, however free iron can be toxic. "We started looking at what happens in this organism and, while doing genetics on this model, we realized that there are certain manipulations we can do that make the survival of these animals in the cold even more effective."īy following one particular manipulation, they realized that increasing the levels of a particular protein calledferritin, a protein that stores iron, strongly protected from cold. ![]() "It looked like they were hibernating, and this is something that has not been described for this organism before," Ciosk says, and continues Remarkably, the total life span was a week longer than that of animals cultivated in the normal temperature. The researchers kept the worms at 4 degrees Celsius (39.2 degrees Fahrenheit) for a week, then took them out from the cold and measured their lifespan. elegans in a particular way, they will survive for a very long time without affecting the total lifespan. Through their research, Ciosk and his colleagues realized how little is known about organismal responses to cold. It has won its "exploiters" three Nobel prizes. elegans, the tiny worm-just around 1 millimeter long-is widely used in biological research. "We started looking at them in our favorite model organism, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans," he says.īetter known as C. Obliging, we began studying proteins involved in cold responses," says Rafal Ciosk, professor in the Section for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo. "This project began quite a few years ago as an ambitious masters' project, where the student wanted to work on something cool. ![]() It has ramifications for treating trauma patients in hospitals, neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and, in the future, might help humans travel in space. Their work is relevant for both hibernation and accidental hypothermia. Now, a group of researchers in Oslo have come closer to explaining what happens in cells that experience deep cooling. ![]() Her heart did not beat for several hours. In 1999, 29-year-old Anna Bågenholm survived a body temperature of 13.7 degrees Celsius (56.7 degrees Fahrenheit), after a skiing accident sent her under ice in a river. This saying reflects clinical observations, including those by doctors at the University hospital in Tromsø in Northern Norway, who have treated patients surviving several hours without a heartbeat, provided they were also very cold.
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