Research Horizons

Search

Sleep Apnea Model Reveals Round-the-Clock Gene Function Disruptions

When obstructive sleep apnea reduces blood oxygen levels, the disruptions that follow go far beyond a poor night’s sleep.

Using a mouse model, experts at Cincinnati Children’s led by Bala Koritala, PhD, and David Smith, MD, PhD, have detailed a wide range of changes in circadian activity involving genes located in many tissues.

The co-authors say their findings could be used to develop improved diagnostic tests that may provide earlier warning of sleep apnea-related health risks.

Details were published May 30, 2023, in PLOS Biology.

View the journal’s media release

 

 

Publication Information
Original title: Obstructive sleep apnea in a mouse model is associated with tissue-specific transcriptomic changes in circadian rhythmicity and mean 24-hour gene expression
Published in: PLOS Biology
Publish date: May 30, 2023
Read the Study

Research By

Bala Koritala, PhD
Bala Koritala, PhD
Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology
David Smith, MD, PhD
David Smith, MD, PhD
Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology

We all have an internal clock that prepares the body to exercise, eat, digest and sleep at specific times of the day. In my lab, we are studying how disruption of this circadian clock occurs in the setting of obstructive sleep apnea.