Growth hormone rescues hippocampal synaptic function after sleep deprivation.

Sleep is required for, and sleep loss impairs, normal hippocampal synaptic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor function and expression, hippocampal NMDA receptor-dependent synaptic plasticity, and hippocampal-dependent memory function. Although sleep is essential, the signals linking sleep to hippocampal function are not known. One potential signal is growth hormone. Growth hormone is released during sleep, and its release is suppressed during sleep deprivation. If growth hormone links sleep to hippocampal function, then restoration of growth hormone during sleep deprivation should prevent adverse consequences of sleep loss. To test this hypothesis, we examined rat hippocampus for spontaneous excitatory synaptic currents in CA1 pyramidal neurons, long-term potentiation in area CA1, and NMDA receptor subunit proteins in synaptic membranes. Three days of sleep deprivation caused a significant reduction in NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic currents compared with control treatments. When rats were injected with growth hormone once per day during sleep deprivation, the loss of NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic currents was prevented. Growth hormone injections also prevented the impairment of long-term potentiation that normally follows sleep deprivation. In addition, sleep deprivation led to a selective loss of NMDA receptor 2B (NR2B) from hippocampal synaptic membranes, but normal NR2B expression was restored by growth hormone injection. Our results identify growth hormone as a critical mediator linking sleep to normal synaptic function of the hippocampus.