Differential Gene Expression in Brain and Liver Tissue of Wistar Rats after Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Deprivation

Abstract

Sleep is essential for the survival of most living beings. Numerous researchers have identified a series of genes that are thought to regulate “sleep-state” or the “deprived state”. As sleep has a significant effect on physiology, we believe that lack of total sleep, or particularly rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, for a prolonged period would have a profound impact on various body tissues. Therefore, using the microarray method, we sought to determine which genes and processes are affected in the brain and liver of rats following nine days of REM sleep deprivation. Our findings showed that REM sleep deprivation affected a total of 652 genes in the brain and 426 genes in the liver. Only 23 genes were affected commonly, 10 oppositely, and 13 similarly across brain and liver tissue. Our results suggest that nine-day REM sleep deprivation differentially affects genes and processes in the brain and liver of rats.