Prenatal Kynurenine Elevation Elicits Sex-Dependent Changes in Sleep and Arousal During Adulthood: Implications for Psychotic Disorders.

ABSTRACT: Dysregulation of the kynurenine pathway (KP) of tryptophan catabolism has been implicated in psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Kynurenic acid (KYNA) is a KP metabolite synthesized by kynurenine aminotransferases (KATs) from its biological precursor kynurenine and acts as an endogenous antagonist of N-methyl-D-aspartate and α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Elevated KYNA levels found in postmortem brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid of patients are hypothesized to play a key role in the etiology of cognitive symptoms observed in psychotic disorders. Sleep plays an important role in memory consolidation, and sleep disturbances are common among patients. Yet, little is known about the effect of altered KP metabolism on sleep-wake behavior. We presently ut

SUBMITTER: Rentschler KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8379538 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature