Captive Grizzly Bears at WSU Bear Center Could Reach up to 800 Pounds in Weight.

In a groundbreaking study, researchers at Washington State University have uncovered genetic clues to how grizzly bears control their insulin during hibernation. This discovery could potentially pave the way for better diabetes treatments in humans.

The research, published in the journal iScience, was conducted at the WSU Bear Center, a research facility in Pullman, Washington. The team, led by postdoctoral researcher Blair Perry, focused on understanding the role of eight key proteins in regulating insulin sensitivity and resistance during hibernation.

To conduct their study, the researchers fed honey water to hibernating bears for two weeks and collected their blood. The serum taken from these bears helped the most in narrowing down these eight proteins.

Among the proteins identified are adiponectin and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which appear to play a unique role in regulating insulin sensitivity during the hibernation phase of grizzly bears.

Mike Sawaya, a bear biologist at Sinopah Wildlife Research Associates, finds the study fascinating and believes it has implications for human health. Studying how a bear goes in and out of insulin resistance each year provides a unique opportunity to better understand insulin resistance in humans.

The researchers combined various blood serums with cell cultures of various types to observe genetic changes. They found that these eight proteins seem to have a unique role in bear biology, working either independently or together to regulate insulin during hibernation.

However, figuring out how to manipulate these eight proteins in people is still a long way off. According to Perry, identifying the proteins is an important step, as is understanding what is being turned on and off when bears change their insulin resistance.

The researchers' findings might lead to better diabetes treatments for humans. As Perry explains, "Such medications or interventions are very far off, but the team is getting closer."

Grizzly bears, found in parts of the western U.S., Canada, and Alaska, experience three stages in a year: Active, hyperphagia, and hibernation. During the hyperphagia stage, grizzly bears consume up to 20,000 daily calories and gain up to eight pounds each day to prepare for hibernation. In hibernation, they rely on their fat deposits to sustain them through the cold months, and they become insulin resistant. Hibernating grizzly bears also experience periods of wakefulness during which they move around but do not eat.

The study team is now planning future studies to investigate exactly how these specific proteins turn off insulin resistance in bears. If they can unlock this secret, it could potentially reverse human insulin resistance, providing a promising new avenue for diabetes research.