The rat cerebral vasculature exhibits time-of-day-dependent oscillations in circadian clock genes and vascular function that are attenuated following obstructive sleep apnea

• Published in: Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism 2017-08, Vol.37 (8), p.2806-2819
• Main Authors: Durgan, David J, Crossland, Randy F, Bryan, Robert M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Cerebral Arteries - physiopathology; Cerebrovascular Disorders - etiology; Cerebrovascular Disorders - genetics; Cerebrovascular Disorders - physiopathology; Circadian Clocks - genetics; Circadian Clocks - physiology; Circadian Rhythm - genetics; Circadian Rhythm - physiology; Disease Models, Animal; Original; Period Circadian Proteins - genetics; Rats, Long-Evans; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive - complications; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive - genetics; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive - physiopathology; Vasodilation - physiology
• ISSN: 0271-678X; 1559-7016
• DOI: 10.1177/0271678X16675879

Circadian clock components oscillate in cells of the cardiovascular system. Disruption of these oscillations has been observed in cardiovascular diseases. We hypothesized that obstructive sleep apnea, which is associated with cerebrovascular diseases, disrupts the cerebrovascular circadian clock and rhythms in vascular function. Apneas were produced in rats during sleep. Following two weeks of sham or obstructive sleep apnea, cerebral arteries were isolated over 24 h for mRNA and functional analysis. mRNA expression of clock genes exhibited 24-h rhythms in cerebral arteries of sham rats (p