UMR CNRS, Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, Université de Lyon, Institut Fédératif des Neurosciences de Lyon, France.
Peptides. 2009 Nov;30(11):2052-9. doi: 10.1016/j.peptides.2009.07.022. Epub 2009 Aug 4.
Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH), a neuropeptide secreted by a limited number of neurons within the tuberal hypothalamus, has been drawn in the field of sleep only fairly recently in 2003. Since then, growing experimental evidence indicates that MCH may play a crucial role in the homeostatic regulation of paradoxical sleep (PS). MCH-expressing neurons fire specifically during PS. When injected icv MCH induces a 200% increase in PS quantities in rats and the lack of MCH induces a decrease in sleep quantities in transgenic mice. Here, we review recent studies suggesting a role for MCH in the regulation of the sleep-wake cycle, in particular PS, including insights on (1) the specific activity of MCH neurons during PS; (2) how they might be controlled across the sleep-wake cycle; (3) how they might modulate PS; (4) and finally whether MCH might take part in the expression of some symptoms observed in primary sleep disorders.
黑色素浓缩激素（MCH）是一种由下丘脑结节部的少数神经元分泌的神经肽，直到 2003 年才在睡眠领域受到关注。此后，越来越多的实验证据表明，MCH 可能在异相睡眠（PS）的稳态调节中发挥关键作用。MCH 表达神经元在 PS 期间特异性放电。当向大鼠脑室内注射 MCH 时，PS 量增加 200%，而在转基因小鼠中缺乏 MCH 会导致睡眠量减少。在这里，我们回顾了最近的研究，这些研究表明 MCH 在调节睡眠-觉醒周期，特别是 PS 方面的作用，包括（1）MCH 神经元在 PS 期间的特定活动；（2）它们如何在睡眠-觉醒周期中被控制；（3）它们如何调节 PS；（4）最后，MCH 是否可能参与一些在原发性睡眠障碍中观察到的症状的表达。
