008 ARC Genotype Modulates Slow Wave Sleep Following Total Sleep Deprivation

Introduction The activity-regulated cytoskeleton associated protein (ARC) gene is an immediate early gene that is involved in synaptic plasticity. Recent evidence from a rodent model suggests that Arc may also be involved in sleep homeostasis. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms regulating the sleep homeostat. In humans, sleep homeostasis is manifested by a marked increase in slow wave sleep (SWS) following acute total sleep deprivation (TSD). There are large, trait individual differences in the magnitude of this SWS rebound effect. We sought to determine whether a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the ARC gene is associated with individual differences in SWS rebound following TSD. Methods 64 healthy normal sleepers (ages 27.2 ± 4.8y; 32 females) participated in one of two in-laboratory TSD studies. In each study, subjects had a baseline day with 10h sleep opportunity (TIB 22:00–08:00) which was followed by 38h TSD. The studies concluded with 10h recovery sleep opportunity (TIB 22:00–08:00). Baseline and recovery sleep were recorded polysomnographically and scored visually by a trained technician. Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood. The ARC c.*742 + 58C>T non-coding SNP, rs35900184, was assayed using real-time PCR. Heterozygotes and T/T homozygotes were combined for analysis. The genotype effect on time in SWS was assessed using mixed-effects ANOVA with fixed effects for ARC genotype (C/C vs. T carriers), night (baseline vs. recovery), and their interaction, controlling for study. Results The genotype distribution in this sample – C/C: 41; C/T: 17; T/T: 6 – did not vary significantly from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. There was a significant interaction between ARC genotype and night (F1,62=7.27, p=0.009). Following TSD, T allele carriers exhibited 47.6min more SWS compared to baseline, whereas C/C homozygotes exhibited 62.3min more SWS compared to baseline. There was no significant difference in SWS between genotypes at baseline (F1,61=0.69, p=0.41). Conclusion ARC T allele carriers exhibited an attenuated SWS rebound following TSD compared to those homozygous for the C allele. This suggests that the ARC SNP is associated with trait individual differences related to sleep homeostasis, and may thus influence molecular mechanisms involved in long-term memory. Support (if any) ONR N00014-13-1-0302, NIH R21CA167691, and USAMRDC W81XWH-18-1-0100.

Effects of Ketamine on Learning and Memory in the Hippocampus of Rats through ERK, CREB, and Arc

Ketamine has become a popular recreational drug due to its neuronal anesthesia effect and low price. The process of learning and memory is part of the distinctive high-level neural activities in animals. We investigated the effects of subanesthetic and anesthetic doses of ketamine on the learning and memory-related signal transduction mechanisms. We used the Morris water maze test to execute rats’ learning and memory ability and detected changes of Arc mRNA and Arc, cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB), phospho-CREB (p-CREB), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and phospho-ERK (p-ERK) protein expression in the hippocampus 10 min and 24 h after administration. Ten min after ketamine injection, the Arc gene and the protein expression levels increased in all groups; p-ERK only increased in the chronic subanesthetic dose group. After 24 h, the Arc gene and the protein expression levels of the subanesthetic dose group increased, but those of the chronic subanesthetic dose group and anesthetic dose group decreased. However, p-ERK increased in all groups. A chronic subanesthetic dose of ketamine could increase learning and memory ability through ERK, CREB, and Arc in a short time, and the high body temperature after the subanesthetic dose of ketamine injection was the main factor leading to changes in Arc. The subanesthetic dose of ketamine regulated learning and memory through ERK, CREB, and ARC 24 h after injection.

Age-associated gene expression changes in the arcuate nucleus of male rhesus macaques

The hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC) represents a major component of the neuroendocrine reproductive axis and plays an important role in controlling the onset of puberty as well as age-associated reproductive senescence. Although significant gene expression changes have been observed in the ARC during sexual maturation, it is unclear what changes occur during aging, especially in males. Therefore, in the present study, we profiled the expression of reproduction-related genes in the ARC of young and old male rhesus macaques, as well as old males that had received 6 months of hormone supplementation (HS) in the form of daily testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone; we also compared morning vs night ARC gene expression in the old males. Using Affymetrix gene microarrays, we found little evidence for age-associated expression changes for genes associated with the neuroendocrine reproductive axis, whereas using qRT-PCR, we detected a similar age-associated decrease in PGR (progesterone receptor) that we previously observed in postmenopausal females. We also detected a sex-steroid-dependent and age-associated decrease in androgen receptor (AR) expression, with highest AR levels being expressed at night (i.e., coinciding with the natural peak in daily testosterone secretion). Finally, unlike previous observations made in females, we did not find a significant age-associated increase in KISS1 (Kisspeptin) or TAC3 (Neurokinin B) expression in the ARC of males, most likely because the attenuation of circulating sex-steroid levels in the males was much less than that in postmenopausal females. Taken together, the data highlight some similarities and differences in ARC gene expression between aged male and female nonhuman primates.