Identification of a novel sleep-regulating factor by in vivo screening of neurodegenerative disease-related factors

• Published in: Proceedings for Annual Meeting of The Japanese Pharmacological Society Vol. 95; p. 3-P-207
• Main Authors: Yamaura, Kosei, Tone, Daisuke, Yamada, Rikuhiro, Ueda, Hiroki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese; English
• Published: Japanese Pharmacological Society 2022
• DOI: 10.1254/jpssuppl.95.0_3-P-207
• ISSN: 2435-4953

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease are known to be accompanied by sleep disorders (Raman, Sleep Med. Clin., 2018). Conversely, in recent years, the sleep disorders have been shown to be a risk factor for the neurodegenerative diseases (Sabia et al., Nat. Commun., 2021). Although these findings suggest a link between neurodegenerative diseases and sleep disorders, the molecular mechanisms involved here are yet to be elucidated. In this study, we addressed the molecular mechanisms that link these two processes by analyzing the contribution of neurodegenerative diseases-related factors to sleep regulation. By combining the adeno-associated viral vector which delivers genes throughout the whole mouse brain, and the Snappy Sleep Stager (SSS) method which measures sleep in a high-throughput manner from mouse respiratory pattern, we analyzed the effects of more than 50 neurodegenerative disease-related factors and their mutants on sleep. As a result, we have identified a novel sleep-regulating factor that can alter sleep duration in mice significantly. The factor might provide insights into the molecular basis linking sleep regulation and pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases.