There is increased ER stress in the pancreas of aged mice. (Photo: Nirinjini Naidoo)
Sleep, or the lack of it, seems to affect just about every aspect of human physiology. Yet, the molecular pathways through which sleep deprivation wreaks its detrimental effects on the body remain poorly understood. Although numerous studies have looked at the consequences of sleep deprivation on the brain, comparatively few have directly tested its effects on peripheral organs. During sleep deprivation cells upregulate the UPR - the unfolded protein response - a process where misfolded proteins get refolded or degraded. Five years ago, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine , University of Pennsylvania , showed that the UPR is an adaptive response to stress induced by sleep deprivation and is impaired in the brains of old mice. Those findings suggested that inadequate sleep in the elderly, who normally experience sleep disturbances, could exacerbate an already-impaired protective response to protein misfolding that happens in aging cells. Protein misfolding and clumping is associated with many diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, noted Nirinjini Naidoo, Ph.D ., research associate professor in the Division of Sleep Medicine in that study.
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