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人工冬眠の実現にむけた休眠研究の取り組み
小野, 宏晃;砂川, 玄志郎
Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/89102
JaLCDOI : 10.14943/lowtemsci.81.141
KEYWORDS : 冬眠;日内休眠;能動的低代謝;人工冬眠;hibernation;daily torpor;active hypometabolism;synthetic hibernation
Abstract
動物は冬季や食料不足に直面すると，生命機能を必要最小限に絞り込むことで，能動的にエネルギー必要量を減らす戦略をとることがある．これを「休眠（torpor）」と呼び，休眠する期間によって数ヶ月にわたる季節性の冬眠（hibernation）と，数時間程度の日内休眠（daily torpor）の2つに大別される．休眠の驚くべき特徴は，代謝と体温が低下するだけではなく，休眠から醒めた後に生体がなんら障害を受けずに正常に機能することにある．もし低代謝耐性と低体温耐性を人間に実装すること（人工冬眠）ができれば，呼吸・循環不全に代表されるようなエネルギー供給不足が問題となる疾患への新しい治療法になることが期待される．
Some mammals actively reduce energy demand by minimalizing their vital biological functions when facing winter or starvation. This is called torpor, divided into either daily torpor (minutes to hours in length) or hibernation (days to weeks). The surprising features of hibernation are not only hypometabolism and low body temperature but their biological function remaining intact after recovering from torpor. Implementing such hypometabolic and low body temperature resistance in humans as synthetic hibernation is expected to become a new treatment for diseases with insufficient energy supply, such as respiratory and circulatory failure.
Some mammals actively reduce energy demand by minimalizing their vital biological functions when facing winter or starvation. This is called torpor, divided into either daily torpor (minutes to hours in length) or hibernation (days to weeks). The surprising features of hibernation are not only hypometabolism and low body temperature but their biological function remaining intact after recovering from torpor. Implementing such hypometabolic and low body temperature resistance in humans as synthetic hibernation is expected to become a new treatment for diseases with insufficient energy supply, such as respiratory and circulatory failure.
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