Red cell 2,3-diphosphoglycerate in hibernating ground squirrels

1. 1. Red cell 2, 3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) and hemoglobin were measured in blood from hibernating and normothermic thirteen-lined ground squirrels ( Citellus tridecemlineatus) and golden-mantled ground squirrels ( Citellus lateralis). 2. 2. Blood from hibernating animals contained significantly less 2, 3-DPG but hemoglobin content was not different. These data provide a basis for the hypothesis that hemoglobin from hibernating animals has an increased affinity for oxygen at 37°C.