Role of the melanin-concentrating hormone neuropeptide in sleep regulation

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 regu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Peptides (New York, N.Y. : 1980) N.Y. : 1980), 2009-11, Vol.30 (11), p.2052-2059
Main Authors: Peyron, Christelle, Sapin, Emilie, Leger, Lucienne, Luppi, Pierre-Hervé, Fort, Patrice
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Humans
Hypocretin
Hypothalamic Hormones - metabolism
Hypothalamic Hormones - physiology
Hypothalamus
Hypothalamus - metabolism
Life Sciences
MCH
Melanins - metabolism
Melanins - physiology
Memory
Memory - physiology
Mice
Models, Biological
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy - metabolism
Neurons and Cognition
Orexin
Pituitary Hormones - metabolism
Pituitary Hormones - physiology
Rapid eye movement sleep
Rats
Sleep - physiology
Sleep, REM - physiology
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0196-9781
1873-5169
DOI:10.1016/j.peptides.2009.07.022