Somnogenic, pyrogenic, and hematologic effects of bacterial peptidoglycan.
Bacterial infections and certain muramyl peptides elicit a variety of pathophysiological effects including increases in body temperature and slow-wave sleep. Bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan is composed of muramyl peptides. To investigate the ability of isolated bacterial cell walls to enhance slow-wave sleep, rabbits were injected intravenously with cell walls isolated from Staphylococcus aureus or with soluble peptidoglycan prepared from Neisseria gonorrhoeae. These injections increased slow-wave sleep, electroencephalographic delta-wave amplitudes, and body temperature, reduced rapid-eye-movement sleep, and induced neutrophilia and lymphopenia. The somnogenic and pyrogenic effects of S. aureus cell walls developed within 1 h and persisted throughout the recording period. Injections of N. gonorrhoeae peptidoglycan induced similar effects but of larger magnitude and shorter duration. We conclude that peptidoglycan is a bacterial component that mediates the increased sleep observed during infectious disease.
Johannsen
L
L
Department of Physiology, University of Tennessee, Memphis 38163.
Toth
L A
LA
Rosenthal
R S
RS
Opp
M R
MR
Obal
F
F
Cady
A B
AB
Krueger
J M
JM
D000818:Animals; D001769:Blood / Q000187:drug effects*; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000187:drug effects; D003700:Delta Rhythm; D005334:Fever / Q000139:chemically induced*; D007958:Leukocyte Count / Q000187:drug effects; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000166:cytology; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011817:Rabbits; D012890:Sleep / Q000187:drug effects; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000187:drug effects*; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000187:drug effects; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus
D010457:Peptidoglycan