Plasticity-Related Gene Expression During Eszopiclone-Induced Sleep

Shu-Xie decoction alleviates oxidative stress and colon injury in acute sleep-deprived mice by suppressing p62/KEAP1/NRF2/HO1/NQO1 signaling

Introduction: Sleep disorders are common clinical psychosomatic disorders that can co-exist with a variety of conditions. In humans and animal models, sleep deprivation (SD) is closely related with gastrointestinal diseases. Shu-Xie Decoction (SX) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with anti-nociceptive, anti-inflammatory, and antidepressant properties. SX is effective in the clinic for treating patients with abnormal sleep and/or gastrointestinal disorders, but the underlying mechanisms are not known. This study investigated the mechanisms by which SX alleviates SD-induced colon injury in vivo. Methods: C57BL/6 mice were placed on an automated sleep deprivation system for 72 h to generate an acute sleep deprivation (ASD) model, and low-dose SX (SXL), high-dose SX (SXH), or S-zopiclone (S-z) as a positive control using the oral gavage were given during the whole ASD-induced period for one time each day. The colon length was measured and the colon morphology was visualized using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. ROS and the redox biomarkers include reduced glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were detected. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), molecular docking, immunofluorescence and western blotting assays were performed to detect the antioxidant signaling pathways. Results: ASD significantly increased FBG levels, decreased colon length, moderately increased the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the colon mucosa, altered the colon mucosal structure, increased the levels of ROS, GSH, MDA, and SOD activity compared with the controls. These adverse effects were significantly alleviated by SX treatment. ASD induced nuclear translocation of NRF2 in the colon mucosal cells and increased the expression levels of p62, NQO1, and HO1 transcripts and proteins, but these effects were reversed by SX treatment. Conclusion: SX decoction ameliorated ASD-induced oxidative stress and colon injury by suppressing the p62/KEAP1/NRF2/HO1/NQO1 signaling pathway. In conclusion, combined clinical experience, SX may be a promising drug for sleep disorder combined with colitis.

Pharmacotherapeutic management of insomnia and effects on sleep processes, neural plasticity, and brain systems modulating stress: A narrative review

Introduction

Insomnia is a stress-related sleep disorder, may favor a state of allostatic overload impairing brain neuroplasticity, stress immune and endocrine pathways, and may contribute to mental and physical disorders. In this framework, assessing and targeting insomnia is of importance.

Aim

Since maladaptive neuroplasticity and allostatic overload are hypothesized to be related to GABAergic alterations, compounds targeting GABA may play a key role. Accordingly, the aim of this review was to discuss the effect of GABAA receptor agonists, short-medium acting hypnotic benzodiazepines and the so called Z-drugs, at a molecular level.

Method

Literature searches were done according to PRISMA guidelines. Several combinations of terms were used such as “hypnotic benzodiazepines” or “brotizolam,” or “lormetazepam” or “temazepam” or “triazolam” or “zolpidem” or “zopiclone” or “zaleplon” or “eszopiclone” and “insomnia” and “effects on sleep” and “effect on brain plasticity” and “effect on stress system”. Given the complexity and heterogeneity of existing literature, we ended up with a narrative review.

Results

Among short-medium acting compounds, triazolam has been the most studied and may regulate the stress system at central and peripheral levels. Among Z-drugs eszopiclone may regulate the stress system. Some compounds may produce more “physiological” sleep such as brotizolam, triazolam, and eszopiclone and probably may not impair sleep processes and related neural plasticity. In particular, triazolam, eszopiclone, and zaleplon studied in vivo in animal models did not alter neuroplasticity.

Conclusion

Current models of insomnia may lead us to revise the way in which we use hypnotic compounds in clinical practice. Specifically, compounds should target sleep processes, the stress system, and sustain neural plasticity. In this framework, among the short/medium acting hypnotic benzodiazepines, triazolam has been the most studied compound while among the Z-drugs eszopiclone has demonstrated interesting effects. Both offer potential new insight for treating insomnia.

Sleep‐based therapy: A new treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a worldwide problem with no effective treatment. Patients usually die of respiratory failure. The basic pathological process of ALS is the degeneration and necrosis of motor neurons. Neuroglial cell dysfunction is considered closely related to the development of ALS. Sleep plays an important role in repairing the nervous system, and sleep disorders can worsen ALS. Herein, we review the pathogenesis of ALS and the neuroprotective mechanism of sleep‐based therapy. Sleep‐based therapy could be a potential strategy to treat ALS.

Altered hippocampal transcriptome dynamics following sleep deprivation

Widespread sleep deprivation is a continuing public health problem in the United States and worldwide affecting adolescents and adults. Acute sleep deprivation results in decrements in spatial memory and cognitive impairments. The hippocampus is vulnerable to acute sleep deprivation with changes in gene expression, cell signaling, and protein synthesis. Sleep deprivation also has long lasting effects on memory and performance that persist after recovery sleep, as seen in behavioral studies from invertebrates to humans. Although previous research has shown that acute sleep deprivation impacts gene expression, the extent to which sleep deprivation affects gene regulation remains unknown. Using an unbiased deep RNA sequencing approach, we investigated the effects of acute sleep deprivation on gene expression in the hippocampus. We identified 1,146 genes that were significantly dysregulated following sleep deprivation with 507 genes upregulated and 639 genes downregulated, including protein coding genes and long non-coding RNAs not previously identified as impacted by sleep deprivation. Notably, genes significantly upregulated after sleep deprivation were associated with RNA splicing and the nucleus. In contrast, downregulated genes were associated with cell adhesion, dendritic localization, the synapse, and postsynaptic membrane. Furthermore, we found through independent experiments analyzing a subset of genes that three hours of recovery sleep following acute sleep deprivation was sufficient to normalize mRNA abundance for most genes, although exceptions occurred for some genes that may affect RNA splicing or transcription. These results clearly demonstrate that sleep deprivation differentially regulates gene expression on multiple transcriptomic levels to impact hippocampal function.

Oral Delivered Dexmedetomidine Promotes and Consolidates Non-rapid Eye Movement Sleep via Sleep-Wake Regulation Systems in Mice

Dexmedetomidine, a highly selective α2-adrenergic agonist, is widely used in clinical anesthesia and ICU sedation. Recent studies have found that dexmedetomidine-induced sedation resembles the recovery sleep that follows sleep deprivation, but whether orally delivered dexmedetomidine can be a candidate for the treatment of insomnia remains unclear. In this study, we estimated the sedative effects of orally delivered dexmedetomidine by spontaneous locomotor activity (LMA), and then evaluated the hypnotic effects of dexmedetomidine on sleep–wake profiles during the dark and light phase using electroencephalography/electromyogram (EEG/EMG), respectively. Using c-Fos staining, we explored the effects of dexmedetomidine on the cerebral cortex and the sub-cortical sleep–wake regulation systems. The results showed that orally delivered dexmedetomidine at 2 h into the dark cycle reduced LMA and wakefulness in a dose-dependent manner, which was consistent with the increase in non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM sleep). However, dexmedetomidine also induced a rebound in LMA, wake and rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep) in the later stage. In addition, orally delivered dexmedetomidine 100 μg/kg at 2 h into the light cycle shortened the latency to NREM sleep and increased the duration of NREM sleep for 6 h, while decreased REM sleep for 6 h. Sleep architecture analysis showed that dexmedetomidine stabilized the sleep structure during the light phase by decreasing sleep–wake transition and increasing long-term NREM sleep (durations of 1024–2024 s and >2024 s) while reducing short-term wakefulness (duration of 4–16 s). Unlike the classic hypnotic diazepam, dexmedetomidine also increased the delta power in the EEG spectra of NREM sleep, especially at the frequency of 1.75–3.25 Hz, while ranges of 0.5–1.0 Hz were decreased. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that orally delivered dexmedetomidine 100 μg/kg at 2 h into the dark cycle decreased c-Fos expression in the cerebral cortex and sub-cortical arousal systems, while it increased c-Fos expression in the neurons of the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus. These results indicate that orally delivered dexmedetomidine can induce sedative and hypnotic effects by exciting the sleep-promoting nucleus and inhibiting the wake-promoting areas.