Control and functions of wounding-induced sleep in C. elegans
Final Report Abstract
Transcriptome analysis revealed a critical role for sleep in regulating the expression of oscillating genes related to cuticle function in the epidermis. The findings show that sleep, through the activity of the sleep-active neuron RIS, modulates the expression of many epidermal cuticle genes. This suggests a specialized role of sleep in maintaining the health and integrity of the epidermis, particularly in processes such as molting and wound healing. Moreover, sleep is essential for forming an anatomically normal and physically robust skin, indicating its vital role in determining skin structure and resilience. The coordination of epidermal and neuronal glycolysis by sleep further underscores its importance. While the epidermis is highly glycolytically active, especially under starvation, sleep reduces this glycolytic activity, suggesting that sleep acts as a metabolic switch. This metabolic regulation is crucial for gene expression control, ensuring the robustness of the cuticle and enhancing survival following wounding. Overall, these findings highlight sleep's pivotal role in skin health and its potential as a therapeutic target for enhancing skin resilience. An unexpected finding of this study was the discovery that sleep controls epidermal glycolysis and the unique role that this glycolytic activity plays. We uncovered an unexpected pattern of glycolytic activity in the epidermis, which differs from that in neurons. Specifically, glycolysis in the epidermis is upregulated during starvation and is under fast, direct control by sleep. Although the full significance of this interplay between glycolytic metabolism in the epidermis and muscle remains unclear, our study provides evidence that sleep regulates glucose metabolism in the epidermis. Additionally, it suggests that sleep may influence gene expression through its control of metabolic processes.
