Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.
Subscribe

Logo for

Science 325 (5942): 866-870

Copyright © 2009 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science

The Transcriptional Repressor DEC2 Regulates Sleep Length in Mammals

Ying He,1 Christopher R. Jones,2 Nobuhiro Fujiki,3 Ying Xu,1,* Bin Guo,4 Jimmy L. Holder, Jr.,1,{dagger} Moritz J. Rossner,5 Seiji Nishino,3 Ying-Hui Fu1,{ddagger}

Abstract: Sleep deprivation can impair human health and performance. Habitual total sleep time and homeostatic sleep response to sleep deprivation are quantitative traits in humans. Genetic loci for these traits have been identified in model organisms, but none of these potential animal models have a corresponding human genotype and phenotype. We have identified a mutation in a transcriptional repressor (hDEC2-P385R) that is associated with a human short sleep phenotype. Activity profiles and sleep recordings of transgenic mice carrying this mutation showed increased vigilance time and less sleep time than control mice in a zeitgeber time– and sleep deprivation–dependent manner. These mice represent a model of human sleep homeostasis that provides an opportunity to probe the effect of sleep on human physical and mental health.

1 Department of Neurology, University of California at San Francisco, Mission Bay, 1550 Fourth Street, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
2 Department of Neurology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA.
3 Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology Laboratory, Stanford University, 1201 Welch Road, P213, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.
4 Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Hesse Hall, Room 245, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
5 Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

* Present address: Model Animal Resource Center, Nanjing University, China 210061.

{dagger} Present address: Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA.

{ddagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ying-hui.fu{at}ucsf.edu

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
G9a mediates Sharp-1-dependent inhibition of skeletal muscle differentiation.
B. M. T. Ling, S. Gopinadhan, W. K. Kok, S. R. Shankar, P. Gopal, N. Bharathy, Y. Wang, and R. Taneja (2012)
Mol. Biol. Cell 23, 4778-4785
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Control of Sleep and Wakefulness.
R. E. Brown, R. Basheer, J. T. McKenna, R. E. Strecker, and R. W. McCarley (2012)
Physiol Rev 92, 1087-1187
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Genetic Interaction of Per1 and Dec1/2 in the Regulation of Circadian Locomotor Activity.
B. Bode, A. Shahmoradi, M. J. Rossner, and H. Oster (2011)
J Biol Rhythms 26, 530-540
   Abstract »    PDF »
Sleep Can Be Considered a Vital Sign of Health Status.
P. T. Alpert (2011)
Home Health Care Management Practice 23, 484-486
   PDF »
Genetic analysis of sleep.
A. Crocker and A. Sehgal (2010)
Genes & Dev. 24, 1220-1235
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Circadian Rhythms and Metabolic Syndrome: From Experimental Genetics to Human Disease.
E. Maury, K. M. Ramsey, and J. Bass (2010)
Circ. Res. 106, 447-462
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Mutation Shortens Length of Sleep.
(2009)
Journal Watch (General) 2009, 2
   Full Text »
How Much Sleep Do We Need?.
H. Hor and M. Tafti (2009)
Science 325, 825-826
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Mutation Shortens Length of Sleep.
Anthony L. Komaroff, MD and Anthony L. Komaroff, MD (2009)
Journal Watch 2009, JW200909100000002
   Full Text »

To Advertise     Find Products

Science Signaling. ISSN 1937-9145 (online), 1945-0877 (print). Pre-2008: Science's STKE. ISSN 1525-8882