- Ma, Chenyan;
- Li, Bing;
- Silverman, Daniel;
- Ding, Xinlu;
- Li, Anan;
- Xiao, Chi;
- Huang, Ganghua;
- Worden, Kurtresha;
- Muroy, Sandra;
- Chen, Wei;
- Xu, Zhengchao;
- Tso, Chak;
- Huang, Yixuan;
- Zhang, Yufan;
- Luo, Qingming;
- Saijo, Kaoru;
- Dan, Yang
Sleep interacts reciprocally with immune system activity, but its specific relationship with microglia-the resident immune cells in the brain-remains poorly understood. Here, we show in mice that microglia can regulate sleep through a mechanism involving Gi-coupled GPCRs, intracellular Ca2+ signaling and suppression of norepinephrine transmission. Chemogenetic activation of microglia Gi signaling strongly promoted sleep, whereas pharmacological blockade of Gi-coupled P2Y12 receptors decreased sleep. Two-photon imaging in the cortex showed that P2Y12-Gi activation elevated microglia intracellular Ca2+, and blockade of this Ca2+ elevation largely abolished the Gi-induced sleep increase. Microglia Ca2+ level also increased at natural wake-to-sleep transitions, caused partly by reduced norepinephrine levels. Furthermore, imaging of norepinephrine with its biosensor in the cortex showed that microglia P2Y12-Gi activation significantly reduced norepinephrine levels, partly by increasing the adenosine concentration. These findings indicate that microglia can regulate sleep through reciprocal interactions with norepinephrine transmission.