C-fos mRNA increases in the ground squirrel suprachiasmatic nucleus during arousal from hibernation

Abstract During hibernation the body temperature of the golden-mantled ground squirrel, Spermophilus lateralis , may drop below 5°C for a few hours to a week or more. Animals cycle between euthermia and deep hibernation many times over the course of the hibernation season. Expression of the transcription factor c- fos increased in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus, the mammalian circadian clock, during deep hibernation and peaked during the arousal from hibernation. The pattern of increase in c- fos messenger RNA seen in the SCN by in situ hybridization was similar to that seen by Northern blot analysis of total hypothalamic RNA. The induction of c- fos may reflect a wake-up signal, increasing transcription of genes required in the euthermic state.