Association of Cigarette Smoking with Sleep Disturbance and Neurotransmitters in Cerebrospinal Fluid

• Main Authors: Li H, Liu Y, Xing L, Yang X, Xu J, Ren Q, Su KP, Lu Y, Wang F
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2020-10-01
• Series: Nature and Science of Sleep
• Subjects: sleep; cigarette smoking; dopamine; cerebrospinal fluid
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/association-of-cigarette-smoking-with-sleep-disturbance-and-neurotrans-peer-reviewed-article-NSS

Hui Li,1– 3 Yanlong Liu,4– 6 Lifei Xing,7 Xiaoyu Yang,8 Jinzhong Xu,9 Qiushi Ren,1 Kuan-Pin Su,4,10,11 Yanye Lu,1 Fan Wang2,3,12 1Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China; 2Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Neurological Disorder Research, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi 830063, People’s Republic of China; 3Psychosomatic Medicine Research Division, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Huhhot 010110, People’s Republic of China; 4Zhuji Institute of Biomedicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Shaoxing 311800, People’s Republic of China; 5School of Mental Health, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325035, People’s Republic of China; 6The Affiliated Kangning Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, People’s Republic of China; 7Department of Neurology, Inner Mongolia North Heavy Industries Group Corp. Ltd Hospital, Baotou 014030, People’s Republic of China; 8Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Beijing 100035, People’s Republic of China; 9The Affiliated Wenling Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenling 317500, People’s Republic of China; 10An-Nan Hospital, China Medical University, Tainan, Taiwan; 11College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 12Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100096, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Fan WangBeijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100096, People’s Republic of ChinaTel [phone] ext. 6429Fax [phone]Email [e-mail]: Cigarette smoking has shown to be associated with sleep disturbance, especially prolonged sleep onset latency (SOL). Cigarette smoking stimulates the release of dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT), which might promote awakening and inhibit rapid eye movement sleep. Dopamine transporter (DAT) and serotonin transporter play a key role in the reuptake of DA and 5-HT from the synaptic cleft into presynaptic neurons. However, the relationship among cigarette smoking, sleep disturbance and neurotransmitters has never been investigated in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).Methods: A total of 159 Chinese male subjects (81 active smokers and 78 non-smokers) who would undergo lumbar puncture before the surgery of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction were recruited and 5mL-CSF samples were collected incidentally. CSF levels of DA, DAT, 5-HT, and serotonin transporter were measured using radioimmunoassay and ELISA. Sociodemographic data and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scale were collected before surgery.Results: PSQI global scores, SOL, and CSF DA levels were significantly higher in active smokers compared to non-smokers (2.00 [1.00– 4.75] scores vs 4.00 [3.00– 6.00] scores, p = 0.001; 10.00 [5.00– 15.00] minutes vs 15.00 [10.00– 30.00] minutes, p = 0.002; 87.20 [82.31– 96.06]ng/mL vs 107.45 [92.78– 114.38] ng/mL, p < 0.001), while CSF DAT levels were significantly lower in active smokers (0.35 [0.31– 0.39] ng/mL vs 0.29 [0.26– 0.34] ng/mL, p < 0.001).Conclusion: Cigarette smoking was indeed associated with sleep disturbance, shown by prolonged SOL, higher DA levels and lower DAT levels in CSF of active smokers.Keywords: sleep, cigarette smoking, dopamine, cerebrospinal fluid