Comparative physiology and biomimetics in metabolic and environmental health: what can we learn from extreme animal phenotypes?

Title (eng)
Comparative physiology and biomimetics in metabolic and environmental health: what can we learn from extreme animal phenotypes?
Author
Peter Stenvinkel
Author
Peter Kotanko
Author
Johanna Painer-Gigler
Author
Paul G. Shiels
Author
Pieter Evenepoel
Author
Leon Schurgers
Author
Barbara Natterson-Horowitz
Author
Szilvia Kalogeropoulu
Author
Joshua Schiffman
Author
Richard J. Johnson
Abstract (eng)
This review explores the remarkable metabolic adaptations of species that thrive in extreme environments, providing insights into their resilience, flexibility and disease resistance. Species such as hibernating brown bears, migratory birds, cavefish, Greenland sharks and naked mole rats exhibit unique metabolic traits that challenge conventional paradigms of metabolic regulation. These adaptations, including resistance to hypoxia and metabolic ageing, offer potential solutions to human metabolic disorders, including obesity, type 2 diabetes and CVD. Insights from comparative physiology, particularly the mechanisms by which animals cope with food scarcity, extreme temperatures and hypoxia, could help identify novel therapeutic targets for advancing human health. For example, hibernation can serve as a model for understanding metabolic diseases, providing insights into reversible insulin resistance and energy homeostasis. This review also highlights the impact of environmental stressors, including climate change, on these species, which may jeopardise their survival despite their resilience. Accelerating anthropogenic environmental change threatens even the most resilient animal species. We call for a holistic approach to conservation and environmental protection to preserve these species and the valuable lessons they offer for managing our metabolic health.
Keywords (eng)
BiomimeticsCardiovascular DiseaseClimate ChangeComparative PhysiologyExposomeHibernationInsulin ResistanceLongevityMetabolic AdaptionNrF2Planetary HealthReview
Type (eng)
journal article
Language
[eng]
Persistent identifier
https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:5301
DOI
10.1007/s00125-025-06611-3
Is in series
Title (eng)
Diabetologia
Volume
69
ISSN
0012-186X
Issued
2026
Number of pages
13
Publication
Springer
Version type (eng)
version of record (published version)
Date issued
2026
Access rights (eng)
open access
License
CC BY 4.0 International
Rights statement (eng)
© 2025, The Author(s)