Changes of sleep related renin secretion after sleep deprivation in humans

Abstract

Sleep is a time of maximal renin secretion during 24 hours (1). Renin is the one hormone with the most distinct ties to the non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM)-rapid-eye-movement (REM)-sleep cycle. During NREM sleep PRA increases, whereas it decreases during REM sleep. Increases of PRA are linked increases of/with slow wave activity (SWA), whereas decreases of PRA are linked with decreases of SWA. The most powerful method to stimulate slow wave sleep (SWS) and SWA is sleep deprivation. The effect of sleep deprivation on the sleep related renin secretion is unknown. We compared sleep EEG and plasma renin levels between nights before and after 40 hours of sleep deprivation in 48 healthy volunteers (24 women and 24 men) with a mean age 42±2.93 resp 37±2.80 of years (ranging from 19 to 69; male subjects:19–64; female subjects:22–69). During the baseline night and the recovery night an indwelling intravenous catheter was inserted for blood collection every 30min between 2000 and 2300 and every 20min between 2200 and 0700. During the recovery night subjects received in randomized fashion repetitive injections of either growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) or corticotropin-releasing-hormone (CRH) or placebo. It is well established that a reciprocal interaction of the sleep promoting GHRH and the sleep impairing CHR play the key role in sleep regulation. We focus on the differences in renin secretion between baseline and recovery nights.