IGFBP3 colocalizes with and regulates hypocretin (orexin).

ABSTRACT:

Background

The sleep disorder narcolepsy is caused by a vast reduction in neurons producing the hypocretin (orexin) neuropeptides. Based on the tight association with HLA, narcolepsy is believed to result from an autoimmune attack, but the cause of hypocretin cell loss is still unknown. We performed gene expression profiling in the hypothalamus to identify novel genes dysregulated in narcolepsy, as these may be the target of autoimmune attack or modulate hypocretin gene expression.

Methodology/principal findings

We used microarrays to compare the transcriptome in the posterior hypothalamus of (1) narcoleptic versus control postmortem human brains and (2) transgenic mice lacking hypocretin neurons versus wild type mice. Hypocretin was the most downregulated gene in human narc

SUBMITTER: Honda M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2617764 | biostudies-literature | 2009

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature