Neuromedin U(2) receptor signaling mediates alteration of sleep-wake architecture in rats

Pharmacomodulation of brain neuromedin U signaling as a potential therapeutic strategy

Neuromedin U (NMU) belongs to a family of multifunctional neuropeptides that modulate the activity of several neural networks of the brain. Acting via metabotropic receptor NMUR2, NMU plays a role in the regulation of multiple systems, including energy homeostasis, stress responses, circadian rhythms, and endocrine signaling. The involvement of NMU signaling in the central regulation of important neurophysiological processes and its disturbances is a potential target for pharmacological modulation. Number of preclinical studies have proven that both modified NMU analogues such as PASR8-NMU or F4R8-NMU and designed NMUR2 agonists, for example, CPN-116, CPN-124 exhibit a distinct pharmacological activity especially when delivered transnasally. Their application can potentially be useful in the more convenient and safe treatment of obesity, eating disorders, Alzheimer's disease-related memory impairment, alcohol addiction, and sleep disturbances. Accumulating findings suggest that pharmacomodulation of the central NMU signaling may be a promising strategy in the treatment of several neuropsychiatric disorders.

Escitalopram alters local expression of noncanonical stress-related neuropeptides in the rat brain via NPS receptor signaling

BACKGROUND

Neuropeptide S (NPS) is a multifunctional regulatory factor that exhibits a potent anxiolytic activity in animal models. However, there are no reports dealing with the potential molecular relationships between the anxiolytic activity of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and NPS signaling, especially in the context of novel stress-related neuropeptides action. The present work therefore focused on gene expression of novel stress neuropeptides in the rat brain after acute treatment with escitalopram and in combination with neuropeptide S receptor (NPSR) blockade.

METHODS

Studies were carried out on adult, male Sprague-Dawley rats that were divided into five groups: animals injected with saline (control) and experimental rats treated with escitalopram (at single dose 10 mg/kg daily), escitalopram and SHA-68, a selective NPSR antagonist (at a single dose of 40 mg/kg), SHA-68 alone and corresponding vehicle (solvent SHA-68) control. To measure anxiety-like behavior and locomotor activity the open field test was performed. All individuals were killed under anaesthesia and the whole brain was excised. Total mRNA was isolated from homogenized samples of the amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus, thalamus, cerebellum, and brainstem. Real-time PCR was used for estimation of related NPS, NPSR, neuromedin U (NMU), NMU receptor 2 (NMUR2) and nesfatin-1 precursor nucleobindin-2 (NUCB2) gene expression.

RESULTS

Acute escitalopram administration affects the local expression of the examined neuropeptides mRNA in a varied manner depending on brain location. An increase in NPSR and NUCB2 mRNA expression in the hypothalamus and brainstem was abolished by SHA-68 coadministration, while NMU mRNA expression was upregulated after NPSR blockade in the hippocampus and cerebellum.

CONCLUSIONS

The pharmacological effects of escitalopram may be connected with local NPSR-related alterations in NPS/NMU/NMUR2 and nesfatin-1 gene expression at the level of selected rat brain regions. A novel alternative mode of SSRI action can be therefore cautiously proposed.

Hugin + neurons provide a link between sleep homeostat and circadian clock neurons

Sleep is controlled by homeostatic mechanisms, which drive sleep after wakefulness, and a circadian clock, which confers the 24-h rhythm of sleep. These processes interact with each other to control the timing of sleep in a daily cycle as well as following sleep deprivation. However, the mechanisms by which they interact are poorly understood. We show here that hugin ⁺ neurons, previously identified as neurons that function downstream of the clock to regulate rhythms of locomotor activity, are also targets of the sleep homeostat. Sleep deprivation decreases activity of hugin ⁺ neurons, likely to suppress circadian-driven activity during recovery sleep, and ablation of hugin ⁺ neurons promotes sleep increases generated by activation of the homeostatic sleep locus, the dorsal fan-shaped body (dFB). Also, mutations in peptides produced by the hugin ⁺ locus increase recovery sleep following deprivation. Transsynaptic mapping reveals that hugin ⁺ neurons feed back onto central clock neurons, which also show decreased activity upon sleep loss, in a Hugin peptide-dependent fashion. We propose that hugin ⁺ neurons integrate circadian and sleep signals to modulate circadian circuitry and regulate the timing of sleep.

Can absence seizures be predicted by vigilance states?: Advanced analysis of sleep-wake states and spike-wave discharges' occurrence in rats

Spike-wave discharges (SWDs) are the main manifestation of absence epilepsy. Their occurrence is dependent on the behavioral state, and they preferentially occur during unstable vigilance periods. The present study investigated whether the occurrence of SWDs can be predicted by the preceding behavioral state and whether this relationship is different between the light and the dark phases of the 24-h day. Twenty-four-hour (12:12 light/dark phases) electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings of 12 Wistar Albino Glaxo, originally bred in Rijswijk (WAG/Rij) rats, a well-known genetic model of absence epilepsy, were analyzed and transformed into sequences of 2-s length intervals of the following 6 possible states: active wakefulness (AW), passive wakefulness (PW), deep slow-wave sleep (DSWS), light slow-wave sleep (LSWS), rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and SWDs, given discrete series of categorical data. Probabilities of all transitions between states and Shannon entropy of transitions were calculated for the light and dark phases separately and statistically analyzed. Common differences between the light and the dark phases were found regarding the time spent in AW, LSWS, DSWS, and SWDs. The most probable transitions were that AW was preceded and followed by PW and vice versa regardless of the phase of the photoperiod. A similar relationship was found for light and deep slow-wave sleep. The most probable transitions to and from SWDs were AW and LSWS, respectively, with these transition likelihoods being consistent across both circadian phases. The second most probable transitions around SWDs appeared more variable between light and dark. During the light phase, SWDs occurred around PW and participated exclusively in sleep initiation; in the dark phase, SWDs were seen on both, ascending and descending steps towards and from sleep. Conditional Shannon entropy showed that AW and DSWS are the most predictable events, while the possible prediction horizon of SWDs is not larger than 4 s and despite the higher occurrence of SWDs in the dark phase, did not differ between phases. It can be concluded that although SWDs show a stable, strong circadian rhythm with a peak in number during the dark phase, their occurrence cannot be reliably predicted by the preceding behavioral state, except at a very short time base.

Spike-Wave Discharges and Sleep-Wake States during Circadian Desynchronization: No Effects of Agomelatine upon Re-Entrainment

Rapid changes in the light-dark cycle cause circadian desynchronization between rhythms of spike-wave discharges (SWDs) and motor activity in genetic epileptic rats, and this is accompanied by an increase in epileptic activity. Given the close relationship between absence seizures and sleep-wake states, the present study assessed firstly a putative relationship between vigilance rhythms and SWDs during re-synchronization, and secondly sleep-wake patterns responsible for increased epileptic activity. Lastly, in a view of existing evidence that melatonin and its agonists accelerate re-synchronization, the effects of different doses of agomelatine upon the speed of re-synchronization of different sleep-wake states and SWDs were investigated. Simultaneous electroencephalographic and electromyographic recordings were made in symptomatic WAG/Rij rats, before, during and 10 days following an 8 h light phase delay. Agomelatine was orally administered acutely and sub-chronically, during 10 post-shift days. The magnitude of the advance after the shift and the speed of re-synchronization were specific for various rhythms. Most prominent change was the increase in REM sleep duration during the dark phase. A post-shift increase in passive wakefulness and a reduction in deep slow-wave sleep coincided with an aggravation of SWDs during the light phase. Agomelatine showed neither an effect on sleep-wake parameters and SWDs, nor affected re-synchronization. The same speed of re-synchronization of SWDs and light slow-wave sleep suggests that both are controlled by a common circadian mechanism. The redistribution of SWDs and their increase in the light phase after the shift may be of importance for patients with absence epilepsy planning long trans-meridian flight across time zones.

An LHX1-Regulated Transcriptional Network Controls Sleep/Wake Coupling and Thermal Resistance of the Central Circadian Clockworks

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is the central circadian clock in mammals. It is entrained by light but resistant to temperature shifts that entrain peripheral clocks [1-5]. The SCN expresses many functionally important neuropeptides, including vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), which drives light entrainment, synchrony, and amplitude of SCN cellular clocks and organizes circadian behavior [5-16]. The transcription factor LHX1 drives SCN Vip expression, and cellular desynchrony in Lhx1-deficient SCN largely results from Vip loss [17, 18]. LHX1 regulates many genes other than Vip, yet activity rhythms in Lhx1-deficient mice are similar to Vip^-/- mice under light-dark cycles and only somewhat worse in constant conditions. We suspected that LHX1 targets other than Vip have circadian functions overlooked in previous studies. In this study, we compared circadian sleep and temperature rhythms of Lhx1- and Vip-deficient mice and found loss of acute light control of sleep in Lhx1 but not Vip mutants. We also found loss of circadian resistance to fever in Lhx1 but not Vip mice, which was partially recapitulated by heat application to cultured Lhx1-deficient SCN. Having identified VIP-independent functions of LHX1, we mapped the VIP-independent transcriptional network downstream of LHX1 and a largely separable VIP-dependent transcriptional network. The VIP-independent network does not affect core clock amplitude and synchrony, unlike the VIP-dependent network. These studies identify Lhx1 as the first gene required for temperature resistance of the SCN clockworks and demonstrate that acute light control of sleep is routed through the SCN and its immediate output regions.

A Zebrafish Genetic Screen Identifies Neuromedin U as a Regulator of Sleep/Wake States

Neuromodulation of arousal states ensures that an animal appropriately responds to its environment and engages in behaviors necessary for survival. However, the molecular and circuit properties underlying neuromodulation of arousal states such as sleep and wakefulness remain unclear. To tackle this challenge in a systematic and unbiased manner, we performed a genetic overexpression screen to identify genes that affect larval zebrafish arousal. We found that the neuropeptide neuromedin U (Nmu) promotes hyperactivity and inhibits sleep in zebrafish larvae, whereas nmu mutant animals are hypoactive. We show that Nmu-induced arousal requires Nmu receptor 2 and signaling via corticotropin releasing hormone (Crh) receptor 1. In contrast to previously proposed models, we find that Nmu does not promote arousal via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, but rather probably acts via brainstem crh-expressing neurons. These results reveal an unexpected functional and anatomical interface between the Nmu system and brainstem arousal systems that represents a novel wake-promoting pathway.

Metabolic signals in sleep regulation: recent insights

Sleep and energy balance are essential for health. The two processes act in concert to regulate central and peripheral homeostasis. During sleep, energy is conserved due to suspended activity, movement, and sensory responses, and is redirected to restore and replenish proteins and their assemblies into cellular structures. During wakefulness, various energy-demanding activities lead to hunger. Thus, hunger promotes arousal, and subsequent feeding, followed by satiety that promotes sleep via changes in neuroendocrine or neuropeptide signals. These signals overlap with circuits of sleep-wakefulness, feeding, and energy expenditure. Here, we will briefly review the literature that describes the interplay between the circadian system, sleep-wake, and feeding-fasting cycles that are needed to maintain energy balance and a healthy metabolic profile. In doing so, we describe the neuroendocrine, hormonal/peptide signals that integrate sleep and feeding behavior with energy metabolism.

Neuropeptides controlling energy balance: orexins and neuromedins

In this chapter, we review the feeding and energy expenditure effects of orexin (also known as hypocretin) and neuromedin. Orexins are multifunctional neuropeptides that affect energy balance by participating in regulation of appetite, arousal, and spontaneous physical activity. Central orexin signaling for all functions originates in the lateral hypothalamus-perifornical area and is likely functionally differentiated based on site of action and on interacting neural influences. The effect of orexin on feeding is likely related to arousal in some ways but is nonetheless a separate neural process that depends on interactions with other feeding-related neuropeptides. In a pattern distinct from other neuropeptides, orexin stimulates both feeding and energy expenditure. Orexin increases in energy expenditure are mainly by increasing spontaneous physical activity, and this energy expenditure effect is more potent than the effect on feeding. Global orexin manipulations, such as in transgenic models, produce energy balance changes consistent with a dominant energy expenditure effect of orexin. Neuromedins are gut-brain peptides that reduce appetite. There are gut sources of neuromedin, but likely the key appetite-related neuromedin-producing neurons are in the hypothalamus and parallel other key anorectic neuropeptide expression in the arcuate to paraventricular hypothalamic projection. As with other hypothalamic feeding-related peptides, hindbrain sites are likely also important sources and targets of neuromedin anorectic action. Neuromedin increases physical activity in addition to reducing appetite, thus producing a consistent negative energy balance effect. Together with the other various neuropeptides, neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, and neurohormones, neuromedin and orexin act in the appetite network to produce changes in food intake and energy expenditure, which ultimately influences the regulation of body weight.