title: Platelet activating factor and its metabolite promote sleep in rabbits.
abstract: Platelet activating factor (PAF) is a key inflammatory mediator. PAF and its receptor are found in brain and PAF affects or is affected by the production of sleep promoting cytokines such as interleukin-1. PAF also interacts with several other sleep-regulatory substances such as nerve growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neurotrophin-3, nitric oxide, prostaglandins, and prolactin. We thus hypothesized that PAF would increase sleep. In these experiments, each rabbit received an injection of 25 microl of 2% DMSO to obtain control values, and on a separate day received PAF or lyso-PAF, a metabolite of PAF. Ten, 100 and 500 nmol for each substance was injected intracerebroventricularly. Both PAF and lyso-PAF enhanced non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep but not REM sleep. Lyso-PAF, but not PAF, induced hyperthermia. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that the brain cytokine network is involved in physiological sleep regulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, University of Hirosaki School of Medicine, Hirosaki 036-8506, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kushikata
authors.forename: Jidong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Krueger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000187:drug effects; D005334:Fever / Q000139:chemically induced; D007276:Injections, Intraventricular; D008297:Male; D010972:Platelet Activating Factor / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011817:Rabbits; D012890:Sleep / Q000187:drug effects*; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: C029271:O-deacetyl platelet activating factor; D010972:Platelet Activating Factor