Abstract Sleep deprivation is a potent stress factor that disrupts regulatory pathways in the brain resulting in cognitive dysfunction and increased risk of neurodegenerative disease with increasing age. Prevention of the adverse effects of sleep deprivation could be beneficial in older individuals by restoring healthy brain function. We report here on the ability of SS31, a mitochondrial specific peptide, to attenuate the negative neurological effects of short-term sleep deprivation in aging mice. C57BL/6 female mice, 20 months old, were subcutaneously injected with SS31 (3mg/kg) or saline daily for 4 days. Sleep deprivation was 4 hours daily for the last 2 days of SS31 treatment. Mice were immediately tested for learning ability followed by collection of brain and other tissues. In sleep deprived mice treated with SS31, learning impairment was prevented, brain mitochondrial ATP levels and synaptic plasticity regulatory proteins were restored, and ROS and inflammatory cytokines levels were decreased in the hippocampus. The observations suggest possible therapeutic benefits of SS31 for alleviating adverse neurological effects of acute sleep loss.

Adverse neurological effects of short-term sleep deprivation in aging mice are prevented by SS31 peptide