More than 100 years ago, scientists extracted spinal fluid from sleep-deprived puppies and injected it into sleepy, energetic puppies, who fell into a deep sleep within a few hours. 50 years ago, researchers transferred fluid from the brain of a goat that had not slept for three days into the brain of a cat and found that it caused the cat to be drowsy as well. This led us to discover the hypnotic substances in the blood of sleepy animals.

The source of these sleep-inducing chemicals is very unclear, specifically to what secreted factors play a "sleep-driven" role, we still do not know enough, scientists have only found a few substances that meet the requirements.

In a new study, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania studied more than 12,000 strains of fruit flies and found that a gene called NEMURI increases the need for sleep. The findings were published in the February 1, 2019 issue of Science in a paper titled "A sleep-inducing gene, nemuri, lіnks sleep and immune function inDrosophila." 

Interestingly, the NEMURI protein is an antimicrobial peptide (AMP) that fights bacteria with its inherent antimicrobial activity. It is secreted by cells in the brain and promotes prolonged deep sleep after infection. 

It was found that if the NEMURI gene was lacking, Drosophila were more easily awakened during daily sleep and their urgent need for increased sleep due to sleep deprivation or infection was reduced. On the other hand, sleep deprivation that increases the need for sleep, and to some extent, infection, both promote NEMURI expression in a small group of Drosophila neurons in close proximity to a known sleep-promoting region in the brain. NEMURI overexpression increased sleep and led to increased survival in bacteria-infected Drosophila compared to uninfected control Drosophila. 

Researcher Dr. Amita Sehgal said, "While it is widely believed that sleep and disease treatment are closely linked, our study directly links sleep to the immune system and provides a possible explanation for how sleep increases during illness." 

Herbey's review

Although Nemuri-equivalent homologs do not exist in the human body Humans do, however, produce more than 100 antimicrobial peptides, which may be able to play similar roles and provide a basis for subsequent research into the link between sleep and immune function. In addition to drinking more water when you are sick, remember to sleep more!

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