Thermoregulatory System with a Shutdown Switch

Abstract

At room temperature of 27degC, core temperature is maintained at 36degC. This indicates that mammals have thermoregulatory system to keep core temperature. On the other hand, when 10% menthol was applied to the skin, core temperature was increased by 1.0-2.0degC from normal level. This suggests that peripheral thermoregulatory system was activated by TRPM8 in skin. When adenosine monophosphate (AMP) was intraperitoneally injected, core temperature was decreased toward ambient temperature. This suggests that thermoregulatory system to keep core temperature around normal level was cut off by AMP. In addition, because shivering was not elicited, TRPM8-mediated thermoregulatory system was also blocked by AMP.