Department of Stem Cell Biology, Institute of Molecular Embryology and Genetics, Kumamoto University, Japan.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2012 Jan 13;417(2):807-11. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2011.12.040. Epub 2011 Dec 16.
Sleep is a unique behavioral state that is conserved between species, and sleep regulation is closely associated to metabolism and aging. The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster has been used to study the molecular mechanism underlying these physiological processes. Here we show that the c-Jun N-terminal Kinase (JNK) gene, known as basket (bsk) in Drosophila, functions in neurons to regulate both sleep and longevity in Drosophila. Pan-neuronal knockdown of JNK mRNA expression by RNA interference resulted in a decrease in both sleep and longevity. A heterozygous knockout of JNK showed similar effects, indicating the molecular specificity. The JNK knockdown showed a normal arousal threshold and sleep rebound, suggesting that the basic sleep mechanism was not affected. JNK is known to be involved in the insulin pathway, which regulates metabolism and longevity. A JNK knockdown in insulin-producing neurons in the pars intercerebralis had slight effects on sleep. However, knocking down JNK in the mushroom body had a significant effect on sleep. These data suggest a unique sleep regulating pathway for JNK.
睡眠是一种物种间保守的独特行为状态，其调节与代谢和衰老密切相关。黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）已被用于研究这些生理过程的分子机制。在这里，我们发现已知在果蝇中称为 basket（bsk）的 c-Jun N-末端激酶（JNK）基因在神经元中发挥作用，调节果蝇的睡眠和寿命。通过 RNA 干扰使 JNK mRNA 表达在全神经元中敲低会导致睡眠和寿命均减少。JNK 的杂合敲除也表现出类似的效果，表明具有分子特异性。JNK 敲低显示出正常的觉醒阈值和睡眠反弹，表明基本的睡眠机制未受影响。JNK 已知参与调节代谢和寿命的胰岛素途径。在脑间部产生胰岛素的神经元中敲低 JNK 对睡眠的影响很小。然而，在蘑菇体中敲低 JNK 对睡眠有显著影响。这些数据表明 JNK 存在独特的睡眠调节途径。
