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Neuroimmunology

Sleep deprivation whips up cytokine storm

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 24, page 2 (2024)Cite this article

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Sleep deprivation (SD) has serious pathophysiological consequences. A report by Sang et al. in Cell shows that excessive efflux of the sleep mediator prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) across the blood–brain barrier (BBB) during SD can induce a ‘cytokine storm’-like syndrome that induces multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) and death.

For this study, the authors developed a new mouse model of SD, ‘curling prevention by water’, which is based on preventing mice from assuming the ‘sleep position’ by placing them in a cage with ankle-deep water. After four days, the mice displayed MODS, an upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and an accumulation of circulating neutrophils, causing death of 80% of the mice. Mice treated with acetaminophen or corticosterone, which can dampen inflammatory cytokines, were resistant to SD-induced mortality. Similarly, mice lacking the cytokine receptor common γ subunit, a central component of cytokine signalling pathways, as well as mice depleted of neutrophils, were resistant to SD-induced death.

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  1. Nature Reviews Immunology http://www.nature.com/nri/

    Alexandra Flemming

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  1. Alexandra Flemming
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Correspondence to Alexandra Flemming.

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Flemming, A. Sleep deprivation whips up cytokine storm. Nat Rev Immunol 24, 2 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-023-00980-9

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