Effects of Vestibular Damage on the Sleep and Expression Level of Orexin in the Hypothalamus of Rats and Its Correlation with Autophagy and Akt Tumor Signal Pathway
Authors: Yan Gangli , Li Fengguang , Tao Zhiwei , Xing Xiaobing , Zhou Ziying , Wang Xijia , Zhou Jinxia 
Published: June 2022

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of vestibular disruption on autophagy-related proteins and the tumour-associated pathway P13K/Akt in rat sleep and its hypothalamus tissue and to examine whether catechins trigger tumour autophagy. Healthy adult male rats were randomly selected and divided into the vestibular damage group, the sham operation group, and the control group, with 8 rats in each group. A vestibular damage model was established through penetrating the tympanic membrane of the external auditory canal by injecting sodium p-aminophenylarsonate. The electroencephalogram (EGG) activity was used to record the sleep-wakefulness cycle of rats, and the expression levels of hypothalamic orexin (orexin) mRNA and autophagy proteins were detected. Primary hippocampal neurons were intervened with orexin at different concentrations and at different times to detect cell viability and the expression of autophagy protein and P13K/Akt signal pathway protein. The results showed that compared with the control group and the sham operation group, NREM duration in the vestibular damage group decreased significantly (

P
<
0.05

), while its  W  time increased significantly (

P
<
0.05

). The expression level of orexin mRNA in the hypothalamus of the vestibular damage group was significantly higher than that of the other two groups (

P
<
0.05

), the expression of autophagy microtubule-related proteins LC3B and Beclin-1 increased significantly (

P
<
0.05

), and the protein expression level of p62 decreased significantly (

P
<
0.05

). After orexin intervention, compared with the control group, the expression of Beclin-1 protein that positively correlated with autophagy decreased significantly (

P
<
0.05

) and the expression of mTOR, PDK1, and Akt protein increased significantly (

P
<
0.05

). Compared with the orexin intervention group, the expression of Beclin-1 and LC3B proteins in cells of the orexin receptor inhibitor (Almorexant) group, the autophagy activator (Rapamycin) group, the orexin + Almorexant group, and the orexin + Rapamycin group increased significantly (

P
<
0.05

), and the expression of mTOR, PDK1, and Akt proteins decreased significantly (

P
<
0.05

). Catechins trigger autophagy in part by regulating the p-Akt/p-mTOR and P13K pathways and by stimulating the MAPK pathway. Catechins initiate apoptosis in common tumour types of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by activating autophagy-related pathways. The conclusion is that vestibular damage can affect the sleep-wakefulness cycle of rats; the level of autophagy in hypothalamic tissue is upregulated and may affect cell proliferation and activity through mTOR-P13K/Akt, which has a certain reference value for tumor formation and provides a basis for the research of insomnia or sleep disorders caused by tumors. Autophagy activation is a key process by which catechins promote apoptosis in tumour cells, providing an avenue for more research on the use of catechins-rich diets for cardiovascular protection in the treatment of tumours.