Synthetic torpor in the rat protects the heart from ischaemia-reperfusion injury.

Chemogenetic activation of the medial preoptic area in rats induces synthetic torpor and reduces ex vivo myocardial infarct size by ~40% during ischaemia-reperfusion injury.

• Why it matters: Torpor is naturally linked to resistance to oxygen deprivation, but it was unknown whether a torpor-like state can protect organs in species that do not naturally enter torpor.
• What they did: Viral vector-mediated chemogenetic activation of the medial preoptic area was used to induce synthetic torpor in rats, followed by ex vivo ischaemia-reperfusion testing and cardiac phosphoproteomic pathway profiling.
• The result: Synthetic torpor is cardioprotective without prior in vivo hypothermia and is linked to activation of cell survival/stress tolerance pathways alongside inhibition of cell death pathways.

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