Distinct phosphorylation states of mammalian CaMKIIβ control the induction and maintenance of sleep

The reduced sleep duration previously observed in Camk2b knockout mice revealed a role for Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII)β as a sleep-promoting kinase. However, the underlying mechanism by which CaMKIIβ supports sleep regulation is largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that activation or inhibition of CaMKIIβ can increase or decrease sleep duration in mice by almost 2-fold, supporting the role of CaMKIIβ as a core sleep regulator in mammals. Importantly, we show that this sleep regulation depends on the kinase activity of CaMKIIβ. A CaMKIIβ mutant mimicking the constitutive-active (auto)phosphorylation state promotes the transition from awake state to sleep state, while mutants mimicking subsequent multisite (auto)phosphorylation states suppress the transition from sleep state to awake state. These results suggest that the phosphorylation states of CaMKIIβ differently control sleep induction and maintenance processes, leading us to propose a "phosphorylation hypothesis of sleep" for the molecular control of sleep in mammals.

Involvement of Ca(2+)-Dependent Hyperpolarization in Sleep Duration in Mammals

The detailed molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of sleep duration in mammals are still elusive. To address this challenge, we constructed a simple computational model, which recapitulates the electrophysiological characteristics of the slow-wave sleep and awake states. Comprehensive bifurcation analysis predicted that a Ca(2+)-dependent hyperpolarization pathway may play a role in slow-wave sleep and hence in the regulation of sleep duration. To experimentally validate the prediction, we generate and analyze 21 KO mice. Here we found that impaired Ca(2+)-dependent K(+) channels (Kcnn2 and Kcnn3), voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels (Cacna1g and Cacna1h), or Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent kinases (Camk2a and Camk2b) decrease sleep duration, while impaired plasma membrane Ca(2+) ATPase (Atp2b3) increases sleep duration. Pharmacological intervention and whole-brain imaging validated that impaired NMDA receptors reduce sleep duration and directly increase the excitability of cells. Based on these results, we propose a hypothesis that a Ca(2+)-dependent hyperpolarization pathway underlies the regulation of sleep duration in mammals.

Improvement in the development of oocytes from C57BL/6 mice after sperm injection

The C57BL/6 mouse strain is used widely for producing transgenic and knockout strains. Sperm motility is extremely low after a freeze-thaw process. Although intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) can be used to produce embryos from sperm with low or even no motility, its success rate is poor in the C57BL/6 strain. In particular, the survival of C57BL/6 oocytes after ICSI is extremely low compared with that of hybrid strains. We found that the survival percentages of C57BL/6J oocytes (63% and 64%) were lower than those of B6D2F1 oocytes (80% and 80%) when B6D2F1 and C57BL/6J sperm were injected, respectively. For C57BL/6J mice, 87%, 72%, 64%, 56%, and 59% of oocytes survived after ICSI in media containing 61.62, 71.62, 81.62, 91.62, and 101.62 mM NaCl, respectively. In addition, 64%, 81%, and 79% of oocytes survived after ICSI in media with 4.83, 14.83, and 24.83 mM KCl, respectively. Our results suggest that the survival of C57BL/6J oocytes after ICSI is improved by using Na(+)-deficient and K(+)-rich media.