Abstract
BACKGROUND: Disruption of diurnal rhythms can lead to various diseases in humans and animals. There is an interaction between the diurnal rhythms of host and gut microbiota. This study was designed to determine whether sleep deprivation disrupted the diurnal rhythmicity of microbiota in the ileum, blood inflammatory cytokines and blood short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). SCFAs are products of gut microbiota. METHODS: Six- to eight-week old CD1 male mice were sleep-deprived for 24 h by placing them in a small platform in a water tank. Their blood and ileal samples were harvested every 4 h in the next day. Mice with or without sleep deprivation were subjected to open field test. RESULTS: Mice with sleep deprivation had decreased richness and altered taxonomic composition of microbiota in the ileum compared with controls. Sleep deprivation disrupted the diurnal rhythmicity of gut microbiota and blood inflammatory cytokines. Mice with sleep deprivation had higher cytokine concentrations (for example, interleukin 1β concentrations at Zeitgeber time 21 were 8.4 ± 0.9 and 5.4 ± 0.4 pg/ml for sleep deprivation and control groups, respectively, P = 0.0128) and were more anxious as assessed by open field test than control mice. Sleep deprivation did not affect the concentrations of SCFAs in the blood. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that there are diurnal rhythms in the microbiota of ileum and blood inflammatory cytokines. Sleep deprivation disrupts these rhythms. Considering the known broad actions of inflammation, the increased inflammatory cytokines may mediate various biological effects, such as anxiety, of sleep deprivation.