A mutation in the geneSik3 leads to shortened night sleep, reports to Hongmin Chen from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The gene bears the building instructions for a protein called “Salt-Inducible Kinase 3”. This protein participates in the regulation of cellular signal paths and is active in many body tissues, but especially in the brain.
It has been known for a long time that not all people need the same amount of sleep. Some do very little; They are enough for four to six hours of sleep to completely recover. This property seems to be at least partially hereditary. Researchers have already found several genes that are related to “family natural sleep” (a need for nightly rest periods that are relatively low in life). This includes the inheritances Dec2,, Adrb1,, NPSR1 and Grm1. You participate in regulating the sleep-wake cycle.
SIK3 gen mutation: influence on sleep and therapy approaches
The research team around Hongmin Chen has carried out genetic examinations to people with a family, natural sleep. There was a mutation in the geneSik3on. Its product is a kinase, i.e. an enzyme that transfers phosphate groups to other proteins and regulates how active they are. In laboratory experiments and with the help of computer models, the research group found that the corresponding mutation prevents the SIK3 kinase from performing its function. This apparently affects sleep regulation.
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Laboratory civil deals, in which the team artificially produced this mutation, slept less than genetically unchanged mice. However, this was not due to a reduced amount of protein in the organism of the animals, as other experiments showed, but was attributed to a reduced enzymatic activity of SIK3. Apparently the biochemical processes on synapses change, the contact points of the nerve cells, for example in the brain. SIK3 therefore seems to play an important role in the sleeping time of animals, including humans. This may be used medically, for example to treat sleep disorders.
