Studies of the Involvement of CO-Chaperone Hdj1 in Modulating Sleep and Behavior Using in Vivo Microrna Technology

Abstract

Data obtained over the last 12 years, along with contemporary hypotheses relating to the main functions of sleep and the roles of molecular chaperones of the Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70) family in modulating sleep, are insufficient to identify the relationship between the quantity of sleep and chaperone levels in the main sleep “center” in the ventrolateral preoptic area (VLPA) of the hypothalamus. With the aim of decreasing the VLPA level of Hdj, the main co-chaperone of Hsp70, the present experiments used a new method based on a lentivirus construct containing a specific Hdj1-siRNA. Immunoblotting data showed that the Hdj1 level in the VLPA decreased by 80% six weeks after infection; this was accompanied by a significant increase in the quantity of slow-wave sleep and a significant decrease in the level of anxiety; we have previously observed these changes with increases in HSP70 levels in the rat brain. It is suggested that the increase in the quantity of slow-wave sleep and the decrease in the level of anxiety may be associated with long-term impairments to the integration of the molecular systems based on chaperones Hdj1 and Hsp70, along with a compensatory increase in chaperone activity and Hsp70 levels in the VLPA.