Chronobiology
Author: Luna Ripari | Email: lunaripari@gmail.com
Luna Ripari1°2°, Esteban J. Beckwith1°2°
1° Instituto de Fisiología Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE) UBA-CONICET
2° Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular, FCEN, UBA.
Sleep deprivation is a neurobiological topic with growing medical and social concerns. In particular, diseases of the gut and other peripheral organs are often accompanied by behavioural changes, including eating disorders, fatigue, and sleep dysfunction, which can have serious consequences for both body and mind. However, little is known about the mechanisms through which intestinal diseases impact these behaviours.
To study the bidirectional regulation between intestinal physiology and sleep regulation, we decided to establish two models of intestinal tumors in Drosophila melanogaster. This represents an experimental approach that allows the study of the gut and brain within their natural microenvironment as part of a multi-organ system.
While establishing the models in the laboratory, we are conducting a detailed description of the effects these manipulations have on sleep behaviour in both female and male flies. Our initial results show a clear increase in sleep levels in females, while males do not seem to exhibit differential sleep regulation compared to their genetic controls. This increase in sleep correlates with phenomena reported in humans.
Based on these initial observations, we aim to investigate which gut-brain axis communication pathways are responsible for this altered sleep regulation, and to study how sleep deprivation in a chronic deprivation model modulates the progression of the intestinal tumors we model in the laboratory.