Endogenous circannual clock and HP complex in a hibernation control system.

Hibernation in mammals is a mysterious biological phenomenon that appears on a seasonal basis for surviving a potentially lethal low body temperature (Tb) near 0 degrees C and protecting organisms from various diseases and harmful events during hibernation. The exact mechanism by which such a unique ability is seasonally developed is still unknown. On the basis of our previous finding that the source of calcium ions for excitation-contraction coupling in myocardium of chipmunks, a rodent hibernator, is seasonally modulated for hibernation, the liver-derived hibernation-specific protein (HP) complex was discovered. Recently, the HP complex was identified as a promising candidate hormone that carries a hibernation signal to the brain independently of Tb and environmental changes for developing a capacity for tolerating low Tb. This finding will promote new approaches to understanding biological hibernation systems, including a circannual clock and its signaling pathway between the brain and the periphery. A new definition of hibernation and a possible model of a hibernation control system are proposed.