Huddling, Cold acclimation, Hypothalamus, Brown adipose tissue, Thermogenesis, Brandt’s voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii), Biotechnology, TP248.13-248.65, Biology (General), QH301-705.5, Biochemistry, QD415-436

Abstract Background Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is the main site of non-shivering thermogenesis (NST) in small mammals, playing an important role in maintaining body temperature and energy balance. Huddling is a behavioral strategy for small rodents to save energy and improve the survival under cold environments. However, the way of huddling behavior influence on hypothalamus, which regulate BAT thermogenesis in small mammals is rarely illustrated. We used male Brandt’s voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii) to explore the possible regulation mechanisms in BAT thermogenesis by the way of cold acclimation and huddling behavior. Results There is a strong relationship between huddling behavior and NST in BAT. The hypothalamus, which is impacted by huddling behavior, influences PPAR signaling pathway in the BAT, and induces thermogenesis through Calcium signaling pathway. PPAR pathway causes crosstalk among NF-κB signaling pathway, Thermogenesis and Fatty acid metabolism to perform functions for thermogenesis. Conclusions The results suggest that huddling behavior can modulate adaptive thermogenesis in BAT. Cold acclimation and huddling had a synergistic effect on the regulation of thermogenic function, the hypothalamus mediates thermogenic changes in BAT induced by huddling behavior. In BAT, the specific pathway of thermogenesis is as follows: TRAF6-PPARγ-UCP1-SUCLG1.