Developing a Model of Vitamin A Deficiency in a Hibernating Mammal, the 13-Lined Ground Squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus)

Retinoic acid, a bioactive metabolite of vitamin A, plays key roles in immune function and vision and adipose tissue development. Our goal was to study the effect of vitamin A deficiency in physiologic changes seen in hibernating 13-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus). In this study, we first developed a model of vitamin A deficiency that was based on published mouse models; we then examined the role of RA in the circannual cycle of and adipose accumulation in this hibernating species. Gravid female ground squirrels began consuming a deficient diet during the last 2 wk of their 4-wk gestation; pups received the diet until they were 8 wk old, when severe symptoms of hypovitaminosis were observed, requiring the animals’ removal from the protocol. Body size and adipose mass were significantly lower in vitamin-deficient pups than controls. To avoid these complications, we developed a second model, in which pups started on the deficient diet after weaning. The revised model produced few symptoms of deficiency, and squirrels were able to remain on the diet through spring emergence. Liver retinol analysis showed that deficient squirrels essentially had no vitamin A stores. Our data suggest that 13-lined ground squirrels maintain higher concentrations of stored retinol than other rodent species, such that their dietary needs may differ from those of traditional laboratory rodent models. Our results indicate that ground squirrels are especially susceptible to vitamin A deficiency, and ground squirrels should not be fed a deficient diet until after weaning, to avoid severe symptoms. Interestingly, vitamin A deficiency does not seem to affect this species’ ability to hibernate successfully.