https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-025-02100-1
Regular Article
Naked mole rat workers and dispersers are susceptible to hyperoxia when exercising in captivity
1
Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
2
Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
3
Federal Territory Sirius, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Krasnodar Region, Russia
4
Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
5
Kulakov National Medical Research Center of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Moscow, Russia
a
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Received:
3
October
2025
Accepted:
8
December
2025
Published online:
16
December
2025
Abstract
Naked mole rats have putative ‘subcasts’ that perform various functions within the colony. Workers and dispersers are the most active mammals, as they perform the bulk of the colony’s labor, while others remain in the nest. Naked mole rats are kept in conditions far removed from their natural habitat, as they live in underground burrows containing approximately 8–15% oxygen and perform heavy physical labor to maintain their colony. Hyperoxia is one of the factors that increase reactive oxygen species in the body. Physical exercise under these conditions can lead to oxidative damage to organs due to exposure to high oxygen levels. To study this, we placed a chamber containing clay with a density similar to that found in the Horn of Africa in a captive naked mole rat colony. To identify active naked mole rats, we conducted accelerometry and thermometry in a separate colony and found that animals with low temperatures were workers and dispersers who had abandoned their nests. After placing a clay chamber, abnormal animals with sunken sides emerged. MicroRNA expression analysis revealed oxidative damage to the heart, skeletal muscles, and kidneys. Therefore, increasing colony exercise under hyperoxic conditions will lead to the death of workers and dispersers.
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-025-02100-1.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
