title: Somnogenic, pyrogenic, and hematologic effects of bacterial peptidoglycan.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Tennessee, Memphis 38163.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Johannsen
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Toth
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Rosenthal
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Opp
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Obal
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Cady
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Krueger
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D010457:Peptidoglycan