Background
The hypothesis was that an orexin 2 receptor (OX2R) agonist would prevent sleep-related disordered breathing.
Methods
In C57BL/6J (B6) mice, body plethysmography was performed with and without EEG monitoring of state (wakefulness, NREM and REM sleep). Outcome was apnea rate/hr during sleep-wake states at baseline and with an intracerebroventricular administration of vehicle, 4nMol of agonist OBDL, and 4nMol of an antagonist, TCS OX2 29.
Results
A significant reduction (p=0.035; f=2.99) in apneas/hour occurred, especially with the agonist. Expressed as a function of the change from baseline, there was a significant difference among groups in Wake (p=0.03, f=3.8), NREM (p=0.003, f= 6.98) and REM (p=0.03, f= 3.92) with the agonist reducing the rate of apneas during sleep from 29.7± 4.7 (M+/− SEM) to 7.3±2.4 during sleep (p=0.001). There was also a reduction in apneas during wakefulness. Administration of the antagonist did not increase event rate over baseline levels.
Conclusions
The B6 mouse is a preclinical model of wake-and sleep-disordered breathing, and the orexin receptor agonist at a dose of 4nMol given intracerebroventricularly will reduce events in sleep and also wakefulness.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.