The Effects and Mechanisms of Continuous 7-Day Hypobaric Hypoxia Exposure on Sleep Architecture in Rats

作者：Li Fang, Xianxie Zhang, Anping Ye, Ling Qi, Tianke Huang, Xitai Chen, Maoxing Li, Chengrong Xiao, Yuguang Wang, Yue Gao, Zeng-Chun Ma · 发表于：International Journal of Molecular Sciences · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3390/ijms26114998 · 被引用次数：6 · 研究领域：Sleep and Wakefulness Research、High Altitude and Hypoxia、Sleep and related disorders

High-altitude environments pose significant risks for insomnia development, which severely compromises both physiological health and occupational performance. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying altitude-induced sleep disruption and establish a validated animal model for therapeutic intervention development, we exposed Sprague-Dawley rats to hypobaric hypoxia (5500 m altitude equivalent: 308 mmHg, 20.37% O2, PiO2 8.0 kPa) for 7 days. We employed continuous wireless telemetry to monitor EEG/EMG signals, with concurrent analysis of physiological parameters, blood biochemistry, histopathology, transcriptomics, and protein expression. Quantitative analyses demonstrated decreased caloric intake, transient body mass reduction, and immune-metabolic disturbances. While total sleep duration showed no significant variation, sleep architecture displayed elevated wakefulness periods, reduced active wakefulness, a decreasing trend of slow-wave sleep (SWS), and increased paradoxical sleep (PS) accompanied by attenuated circadian oscillations. The duration of SWS episodes was significantly shortened, indicating a sleep homeostasis imbalance that peaked on day 3. Biochemical profiling revealed reduced levels of antioxidant enzymes, elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines, and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activation. Transcriptomic analyses identified the critical involvement of serotonergic/glutamatergic synaptic regulation, lipid metabolism, IL-17 signaling, and cortisol synthesis pat...