No. of views : (7605)
Brain based proteins can regulate sleep, shows study
Posted on: 07/Feb/2017 12:28:14 PM
A new study has said that sleep may be regulated in part by several brain-based immune proteins. This finding may potentially help develop therapies for people with chronic sleep disorders.
According to the researchers from Harvard Medical School (HMS) in the US, The immune proteins are collectively called as inflammasome NLRP3. The inflammasome - which works by unleashing a cascade of immune molecules in response to inflammation and infection - emerges as a central promoter of sleep following such events. The study, conducted on mice, show that the inflammasome recruits a sleep-inducing molecule to trigger somnolence following sleep deprivation and exposure to a bacterial toxin.
Animals lacking genes for this protective immune complex showed profound sleep aberrations. Our research points, for the first time, to the inflammasome acting as a universal sensing mechanism that regulates sleep through the release of immune molecules. We already know that sleep plays a protective role in resolving infections so our observation of inflammasome activation following infection suggests this immune mechanism may have a brain-protective role.
For more inquiries please contact:
