title: The role of cholinergic basal forebrain neurons in adenosine-mediated homeostatic control of sleep: lessons from 192 IgG-saporin lesions.
abstract: A topic of high current interest and controversy is the basis of the homeostatic sleep response, the increase in non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep and NREM-delta activity following sleep deprivation (SD). Adenosine, which accumulates in the cholinergic basal forebrain (BF) during SD, has been proposed as one of the important homeostatic sleep factors. It is suggested that sleep-inducing effects of adenosine are mediated by inhibiting the wake-active neurons of the BF, including cholinergic neurons. Here we examined the association between SD-induced adenosine release, the homeostatic sleep response and the survival of cholinergic neurons in the BF after injections of the immunotoxin 192 immunoglobulin G (IgG)-saporin (saporin) in rats. We correlated SD-induced adenosine level in the BF and the homeostatic sleep response with the cholinergic cell loss 2 weeks after local saporin injections into the BF, as well as 2 and 3 weeks after i.c.v. saporin injections. Two weeks after local saporin injection there was an 88% cholinergic cell loss, coupled with nearly complete abolition of the SD-induced adenosine increase in the BF, the homeostatic sleep response, and the sleep-inducing effects of BF adenosine infusion. Two weeks after i.c.v. saporin injection there was a 59% cholinergic cell loss, correlated with significant increase in SD-induced adenosine level in the BF and an intact sleep response. Three weeks after i.c.v. saporin injection there was an 87% cholinergic cell loss, nearly complete abolition of the SD-induced adenosine increase in the BF and the homeostatic response, implying that the time course of i.c.v. saporin lesions is a key variable in interpreting experimental results. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that cholinergic neurons in the BF are important for the SD-induced increase in adenosine as well as for its sleep-inducing effects and play a major, although not exclusive, role in sleep homeostasis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and VA Boston Healthcare System, 1400 V.F.W. Parkway, West Roxbury, MA 02132, USA. anna_kalinchuk@hms.harvard.edu
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Kalinchuk
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: McCarley
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stenberg
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Porkka-Heiskanen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Basheer
mesh_terms: D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000378:metabolism; D000241:Adenosine / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D018678:Cholinergic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000187:drug effects; D004576:Electromyography / Q000187:drug effects; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase / Q000378:metabolism; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000502:physiology*; D007276:Injections, Intraventricular; D008297:Male; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D010275:Parasympathetic Nervous System / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D054789:Ribosome Inactivating Proteins, Type 1 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000076985:Saporins; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: C085696:192 IgG-saporin; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D018678:Cholinergic Agents; D054789:Ribosome Inactivating Proteins, Type 1; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase; D000076985:Saporins; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase; D000241:Adenosine