Phosphorylation and dephosphorylation enzyme groups regulate sleep and wakefulness
Recent research has observed that chemical modifications called phosphorylation of various proteins in brain neurons dynamically regulates in controlling sleep and wakefulness. On the other hand, it has not been fully elucidated the protein kinases that suppress sleep and the dephosphorylation enzymes that control sleep and wakefulness.
Animals, including humans, require a certain amount of sleep daily. When this sleep requirement is not met, humans experience “sleep deprivation.” However, the molecular mechanisms involved in sleep regulation remain unclear.
A research group has discovered that protein kinase A (PKA) promotes wakefulness, while protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) and calcineurin, dephosphorylation enzymes, promote sleep in mammals.
Focusing on PKA and dephosphorylation enzymes, the research group created comprehensive gene knockout mice and conducted further experiments inducing the expression of functionally modified enzymes using viral vectors.
Consequently, they found that PKA activation decreased sleep duration and delta power, and indicator of sleep needs. On the other hand, PP1 and calcineurin activation conversely increased sleep duration and delta power.
In these sleep-wake promoting activities, it is essential that PKA, PP1, and calcineurin act at post-synapses responsible for information transmission between neurons. In addition, they demonstrated that PKA and PP1/calcineurin may work competitively to regulate the daily sleep duration.
This study has revealed that the balance between sleep and wakefulness is regulated by the action of multiple enzymes, which is an important finding when considering how to control sleep duration and sleepiness on the molecular level.
