The pause key of life? Nature: Scientists find 'hibernating switch' for the first time in mouse brains

▎ in the fairy tale edited by Yao Ming Kant's content team, the sleeping beauty has been sleeping for 100 years, with time stagnant and her face is not old; in the science fiction film, astronauts are quietly lying in the sleeping cabin and crossing the vast space during their long interstellar travel.although these are imaginary situations, the idea of pressing the "life pause" button may not be so far away from reality, according to a new group of scientists.recently, the top academic journal Nature published two research papers online. Two research teams from Harvard Medical School and Tsukuba University in Japan "back to back" found a group of special nerve cells in the brain of mice, which played a key role in temperature control.the artificial activation of these nerve cells can trigger the mice to enter a state similar to hibernation, which greatly reduces the body temperature and energy consumption.in addition, the animals recovered from this state without abnormal tissues, organs and behaviors.based on the findings, the researchers hope that "artificial hibernation" can be achieved in humans. In nature, frogs, snakes, bears and other animals can survive through hibernation (seasonal dormancy) in harsh winter, food shortage season or other extreme conditions.different from daily sleep, hibernation involves physiological changes of the whole body, with slower heart rate, weaker respiration, less oxygen consumption and significant temperature drop.Why do some animals hibernate and some don't? This question not only makes five or six year olds curious, but also inspires many scientists to explore it.the researchers pointed out that one of the reasons for the difficulty in hibernation research is that mice and rats, which are commonly used experimental animals, do not hibernate.however, the team led by Professor Michael Greenberg of Harvard Medical School noticed that mice entered a transient torpor state when food was scarce and the surrounding was cold.when the ambient temperature was as low as 22 ℃, the core body temperature, metabolic rate and physical activity of the 24-hour hungry mice were significantly decreased. In contrast, the satiated mice were able to maintain normal body temperature.the team used biomarkers of neuronal activity to look for neurons in the brains of mice that were activated when they entered a state of numbness.} to find and identify neurons that are activated during numbness (photo source: reference [4]). In the process, they focused their search on the hypothalamus, the brain area responsible for body temperature regulation, hunger, thirst, and hormone secretion.in hundreds of different regions of the hypothalamus, the researchers identified which areas of neurons would cause numbness in mice when activated.after a hard search, they finally identified a group of neurons in a specific area of the hypothalamus (medial and lateral preoptic area).only stimulating this group of neurons can rapidly reduce the body temperature and activity of mice, and inhibit the activity of these neurons can also avoid starving mice into numbness.the researchers then identified which marker proteins, such as neurotransmitters, were expressed in these neurons by single cell RNA sequencing. in another research paper, scientists from the University of Tsukuba in Japan found the same "neural switch" in similar areas of the hypothalamus by different methods. they named this group of neurons Q neurons. through genetic modification, researchers were able to specifically activate Q neurons in mouse brains with chemicals or light. they were surprised to find that the core temperature of the mice dropped by nearly 10 degrees, and could show the unique state of hibernation of animals for 48 hours: no food, no movement, lower heart rate, reduced oxygen consumption, etc. "when the surrounding environment is greatly reduced, their body functions remain normal and their body temperature becomes lower, which is maintained at about 22 ℃. "said Professor Sakurai. } after transient activation of Q neurons, the core body temperature of mice decreased from 37 ℃ to 24 ℃ (photo source: reference [1]) "what is more surprising is that activation of Q neurons can trigger similar hibernation state as mice in rats that neither hibernate nor have daily torpor. "Although we don't know the exact answer yet, it's possible that humans also have Q neurons that can trigger similar states," said lead author Gao qiaoche. "next, can humans also" sleep with one button "? "It's too early to say whether we can induce the same state in people, but it's a goal worth exploring. "said Professor Greenberg. } our journey is Xingxinghai (photo source: pixabay). When it comes to the future application of "artificial hibernation", two scientific research teams have launched many ideas, such as replacing anesthesia in clinical surgery, slowing down the metabolic process after stroke or trauma, avoiding further damage to the brain, prolonging life span, and even turning fantasy into reality for human Mars Space exploration provides help. "imagination becomes more and more crazy when we imagine that humans can also have a state similar to hibernation. "said one of the study authors, Dr. Sinisa hrvatin of Harvard Medical School. References: [1] Takahashi, T. M. et al. (2020) a discrete neural circuit leads a hibernation like state in rodents. Nature (2020). [2] hvratin, S. et al. (2020) nerves that regulate mouse torpor. Nature (2020). [3] Clifford B. Saper & amp; s; Natalia L. S. Machado (2020) Flipping the switch on the body’s thermoregulatory system. Nature. Doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-01600-5[4] State of Stasis. 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