BMC Biology (Oct 2007)

Sleep in <it>Kcna2 </it>knockout mice

  • Messing Albee,
  • Chiu Shing-Yan,
  • Southard Teresa,
  • Vyazovskiy Vladyslav,
  • Douglas Christopher L,
  • Tononi Giulio,
  • Cirelli Chiara

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7007-5-42
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5, no. 1
p. 42

Abstract

Read online

Abstract Background Shaker codes for a Drosophila voltage-dependent potassium channel. Flies carrying Shaker null or hypomorphic mutations sleep 3–4 h/day instead of 8–14 h/day as their wild-type siblings do. Shaker-like channels are conserved across species but it is unknown whether they affect sleep in mammals. To address this issue, we studied sleep in Kcna2 knockout (KO) mice. Kcna2 codes for Kv1.2, the alpha subunit of a Shaker-like voltage-dependent potassium channel with high expression in the mammalian thalamocortical system. Results Continuous (24 h) electroencephalograph (EEG), electromyogram (EMG), and video recordings were used to measure sleep and waking in Kcna2 KO, heterozygous (HZ) and wild-type (WT) pups (P17) and HZ and WT adult mice (P67). Sleep stages were scored visually based on 4-s epochs. EEG power spectra (0–20 Hz) were calculated on consecutive 4-s epochs. KO pups die by P28 due to generalized seizures. At P17 seizures are either absent or very rare in KO pups ( Conclusion Kv1.2, a mammalian homologue of Shaker, regulates neuronal excitability and affects NREM sleep.