A critical role of hypocretin deficiency in pregnancy.
Hypocretin/orexin peptides are known for their role in the control of the wake–sleep cycle and narcolepsy–cataplexy pathophysiology. Recent studies suggested that hypocretin peptides also have a role in pregnancy. We tested this hypothesis by conducting a retrospective analysis on pregnancy complications in two different mouse models of hypocretin deficiency. We recorded 85 pregnancies of mice lacking either hypocretin peptides (knockout) or hypocretin-releasing neurons (transgenic) and their wild-type controls. Pregnancy was associated with unexplained dam death before delivery in 3/15 pregnancies in knockout mice, and in 3/23 pregnancies in transgenic mice. No casualties occurred in wild-type pregnant dams (P < 0.007 versus hypocretin-deficient mice as a whole). Hypocretin deficiency did not impact either on litter size or the number of weaned pups per litter. These data provide preliminary evidence of a critical role of hypocretin deficiency in pregnancy.
Stefano
S
Bastianini
Chiara
C
Berteotti
Viviana
V
Lo Martire
Alessandro
A
Silvani
Giovanna
G
Zoccoli
D000818:Animals; D003645:Death, Sudden; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009290:Narcolepsy / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000378:metabolism; D000068797:Orexins; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000378:metabolism*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015398:Signal Transduction
D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides; D000068797:Orexins