Artificial torpor induction approaches. Credit score: Nature Metabolism (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s42255-025-01345-3
Nature is usually one of the best mannequin for science. For practically a century, scientists have been making an attempt to recreate the power of some mammals and birds to outlive excessive environmental situations for temporary or prolonged intervals by going into torpor, when their physique temperature and metabolic fee drop, permitting them to protect power and warmth.
Taking inspiration from nature, Hong Chen, professor of biomedical engineering within the McKelvey Faculty of Engineering and of neurosurgery at WashU Medication, and an interdisciplinary crew induced a reversible torpor-like state in mice by utilizing centered ultrasound to stimulate the hypothalamus preoptic space within the mind, which helps to control physique temperature and metabolism.
Along with the mouse, which naturally goes into torpor, Chen and her crew induced torpor in a rat, which doesn’t. The work is revealed in a Views paper in Nature Metabolism.
Their findings, revealed in 2023 in the identical journal, confirmed the primary noninvasive and protected technique to induce a torpor-like state by concentrating on the central nervous system.
Now, the crew is in pursuit of translating induced, or artificial, torpor into potential options for people, akin to when there may be decreased blood stream to tissues or organs, to protect organs for transplantation or to guard from radiation throughout area journey.
Typical medical interventions give attention to growing power provide, akin to restoring blood stream to the mind after a stroke. Artificial torpor seeks to do the other by lowering power demand.
“The capability of synthetic torpor to regulate whole-body metabolism promises to transform medicine by offering novel strategies for medical interventions,” mentioned Chen.
Artificial torpor has been used efficiently in preclinical fashions with medicines and specialised concentrating on of the neural circuit, however there are challenges to adapting these strategies for people. Earlier human trials with hydrogen sulfide had been terminated early as a consequence of security issues.
“Our challenges include overcoming metabolic differences among animals and humans, choosing the correct dose of medication and creating ways to allow a reversible torpor-like state,” mentioned Wenbo Wu, a biomedical engineering doctoral pupil in Chen’s lab and first writer of the Views paper, a collaboration between Chen’s crew and Genshiro Sunagawa from the RIKEN Heart for Biosystems Dynamics Analysis in Japan.
“Collaboration among scientists, clinicians and ethicists will be critical to develop safe, effective and scalable solutions for synthetic torpor to become a practical solution in medicine.”
Medical purposes of artificial torpor. Credit score: Nature Metabolism (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s42255-025-01345-3
Chen’s crew, together with Yaoheng (Mack) Yang, who was a postdoctoral analysis affiliate in her lab and is now assistant professor of biomedical engineering on the College of Southern California, focused the neural circuit with their induced torpor resolution in mice.
They created a wearable ultrasound transducer to stimulate the neurons within the hypothalamus preoptic space. When stimulated, the mice confirmed a drop in physique temperature of about 3 levels C for about one hour.
As well as, the mice’s metabolism confirmed a change from utilizing each carbohydrates and fats for power to solely fats, a key characteristic of torpor, and their coronary heart charges fell by about 47%, all whereas at room temperature.
“Ultrasound is the only noninvasive energy modality capable of safely penetrating the skull and precisely targeting deep brain structures,” Chen mentioned.
“While ultrasound neuromodulation lacks cell-type specificity compared with genetic-based neuromodulation, it provides a noninvasive alternative for inducing synthetic torpor without the need for genetic modifications.”
Chen and her crew point out that artificial torpor presents a promising therapeutic technique with extra purposes, together with inhibiting tumor progress and potential improvement of latest therapies for tau protein-related illnesses, akin to Alzheimer’s illness.
Nonetheless, a lot stays unknown about how mind areas, peripheral organs and mobile pathways coordinate metabolic suppression and arousal.
Researchers additionally want to check the long-term dangers and potential unwanted effects and name for extra preclinical research and technological improvements that can facilitate a twin strategy, which would come with modulating neural circuits related to hypometabolism and influencing peripheral metabolic pathways by way of systemic interventions, akin to with medicine or peripheral neuromodulation.
“Synthetic torpor is no longer just a theoretical concept—it is an emerging field with the potential to redefine medicine,” Chen mentioned.
“Bridging fundamental neuroscience, bioengineering and translational medicine will be key to overcoming current challenges and advancing synthetic torpor toward real-world applications. Synthetic torpor could transition from a scientific curiosity to a human reality through interdisciplinary collaborations.”
Extra info:
Wu, W., et al. Artificial torpor: advancing metabolic regulation for medical improvements. Nature Metabolism (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s42255-025-01345-3 doi.org/10.1038/s42255-025-01345-3
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