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. 2010 Oct;109(4):1053-63.
doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00516.2010. Epub 2010 Aug 12.

Effects of sleep on the cardiovascular and thermoregulatory systems: a possible role for hypocretins

H Schwimmer  1 , H M Stauss, F Abboud, S Nishino, E Mignot, J M Zeitzer
Affiliations

Effects of sleep on the cardiovascular and thermoregulatory systems: a possible role for hypocretins

H Schwimmer et al. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2010 Oct.

Abstract

Sleep influences the cardiovascular, endocrine, and thermoregulatory systems. Each of these systems may be affected by the activity of hypocretin (orexin)-producing neurons, which are involved in the etiology of narcolepsy. We examined sleep in male rats, either hypocretin neuron-ablated orexin/ataxin-3 transgenic (narcoleptic) rats or their wild-type littermates. We simultaneously monitored electroencephalographic and electromyographic activity, core body temperature, tail temperature, blood pressure, electrocardiographic activity, and locomotion. We analyzed the daily patterns of these variables, parsing sleep and circadian components and changes between states of sleep. We also analyzed the baroreceptor reflex. Our results show that while core temperature and heart rate are affected by both sleep and time of day, blood pressure is mostly affected by sleep. As expected, we found that both blood pressure and heart rate were acutely affected by sleep state transitions in both genotypes. Interestingly, hypocretin neuron-ablated rats have significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure during all sleep stages (non-rapid eye movement, rapid eye movement) and while awake (quiet, active). Thus, while hypocretins are critical for the normal temporal structure of sleep and wakefulness, they also appear to be important in regulating baseline blood pressure and possibly in modulating the effects of sleep on blood pressure.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Measurements for 24 h of core body temperature (A), tail temperature (B), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (C), pulse pressure (D), heart rate (E), and locomotor activity (F). Each graph represents data collected from 8 rats in each group: wild type (WT; black) and transgenic (TG; gray). In C, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively, are represented by closed diamonds and open rectangles (WT) or triangles and × (TG). Data were collected every 10 s and averaged for every 2 h within, then between rats, and are presented as means ± SE. Horizontal gray bar represents the time of darkness. Lights were on from 8 AM until 8 PM. bpm, beats/min.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Core body temperature (A), tail temperature (B), systolic (C) and diastolic (D) blood pressure, heart rate (E), and pulse pressure (F), in each wake/sleep state, in WT (black) and TG (gray) rats. Each bar represents an average of 6–8 rats in specific wake/sleep stage: active wake (AW), quiet wake (QW), non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM), and rapid eye movement sleep (REM). Data were collected over 48 h, averaged within, then between rats, and are presented as means ± SE. *P < 0.05 vs. QW, #P < 0.05 vs. WT in the same sleep/wake state.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Core body temperature (A), tail temperature (B), systolic blood pressure (C), pulse pressure (D), heart rate (E), and locomotor activity (F) in each wake/sleep state, during the day (black) and during the night (gray) in WT rats. Each bar represents an average of 6–8 rats in specific wake/sleep stage: AW, QW, NREM sleep, and REM sleep. Data were collected over 48 h, averaged within, then between rats, and are presented as means ± SE. *P < 0.05 vs. QW, #P < 0.05 vs. day in the same sleep/wake state.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Patterns of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate occurring during transitions between sleep/wake states are presented. Data were z-score transformed within rats and then averaged between rats (6–8 rats/group) and are shown as means ± SE for the WT (black) and TG (gray) rats. Data from 60 s before until 60 s after transition point are shown.
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