Effects of sleep deprivation on the gene expression of 5-serotonin 1A receptor and dopamine 2 receptor in different brain regions of rats

Abstract

Objective To analyze the influence of sleep deprivation on expression of serotonin receptor 1A(5-HT1A) and dopamine-2 receptor (D2R) gene and to explore the differences between different neurotransmitter pathways involved in sleep regulation through measuring the gene expression of 5-HT1A and D2R in regions of hippocampus, hypothalamus and striatum with different sleep deprivation models. Methods Sleep deprivation was performed to male SD rats of 10-week-old for 24 hours, 48 hours and 72 hours respectively as the experimental group and a control group was taken for comparison. The expressions of 5-HT1A and D2R gene in regions of hippocampus, hypothalamus and striatum were detected through RT-PCR technique to analyze the influence of sleep deprivation on gene expression in different regions. Results Sleep deprivation had a significant effect on the gene expression of 5-HT1A in regions of hippocampus and striatum(F=56.203, P<0.01; F=77.288, P<0.01). The three experimental groups were all superior to the control group and the difference was of statistic significance(P<0.05). In the hippocampus region, the expression quantity of the 72 hours group(0.618±0.054) was superior to that of the 24 hours group and of the 48 hours group(24 hours: 0.404±0.023, P<0.01; 48 hours: 0.455±0.042. P<0.05). In the striatum region, the differences between the 24 hours group(0.413±0.033), the 48 hours group(0.464±0.034) and the 72 hours group(0.610±0.040)were all of statistic significance(all P<0.05). Sleep deprivation had a significant effect on the expression of D2R gene in regions of hippocampus and striatum(F=74.708, P<0.01; F=80.687, P<0.01). The expression quantity of the three experimental groups in regions of hippocampus (24 hours: 0.386±0.027, 48 hours: 0.318±0.014, 72 hours: 0.250±0.010) and striatum(24 hours: 0.396±0.013, 48 hours: 0.349±0.017, 72 hours: 0.260±0.013) were all inferior to the control group. The differences were of statistic significance(all P<0.05). There was a negative correlation between the gene expressions of 5-HT1A and D2R of rats of the three experience groups(all P<0.05). Conclusion For the sleep deprivation rats, the gene expression of 5-HT1A rises while that of D2R falls in regions of hippocampus, hypothalamus, and there is a negative correlation between the expressions of the two genes. Key words: Sleep deprivation; Rat; Serotonin receptor 1A; Dopamine-2 receptor; Gene expression