Cold Adaptation as a Means of Increasing Antioxidant Protection

Abstract

We present here a review of the literature analyzing the link between the physiological mechanisms of cold adaptation and cold-induced prooxidant and compensatory antioxidant processes. Cold adaptation has been shown to increase the number and activity of mitochondria to support increases in ATP consumption; this leads to increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), as mitochondria are among the main sources of ROS in physiological conditions. Studies in recent decades have shown that protein PGC-1α – one of the main regulators of mitochondrial biogenesis – also affects the synthesis of antioxidant enzymes, thus controlling the mitochondrial generation of reactive oxygen species. At the whole-body level, systematic cold stimulates intrinsic protective resources by enhancing oxidative processes, which in turn initiates activation of the antioxidant systems and increases the overall resistance of the body to stress factors of different types.