Effects of the CLIP fragment ACTH 20-24 on the duration of REM sleep episodes.
Substances acting upon rapid eye movement (REM) sleep or paradoxical sleep (PS) can affect the number and/or the duration of PS episodes. In the present study, we investigated the effects of the proopiomelanocortin-derived peptide CLIP (corticotropin-like intermediate lobe peptide, ACTH 18-39) and its N-terminal fragments ACTH 18-24 and ACTH 20-24 on the duration of PS episodes in rats. Intracerebroventricular injection of ACTH 20-24 caused a pronounced prolongation of PS episodes (up to 7 min duration, never seen under baseline conditions), whereas ACTH 18-24 acted in a similar way but without reaching statistical significance. We suggest that short N-terminal CLIP fragment(s) may represent endogenous hypnogenic factor(s) involved in the regulation of paradoxical sleep.
Wetzel
W
W
Federal Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany. wetzel@ifn-magdeburg.de
Wagner
T
T
Vogel
D
D
Demuth
H U
HU
Balschun
D
D
D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D053497:Corticotropin-Like Intermediate Lobe Peptide; D008297:Male; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000187:drug effects*; D013997:Time Factors
D010446:Peptide Fragments; D053497:Corticotropin-Like Intermediate Lobe Peptide; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone