Sleep Deprivation Impairs Vascular Function through Reduced Endothelial Oxidant Stress Clearance in Women

Introduction: Sleep deprivation is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, which is more pronounced in women than men; however, causal evidence is lacking and the underlying mechanisms are unclear. We used randomized crossover design of prolonged sleep deprivation that mimics “life-like conditions” and endothelial cells (ECs) harvested from healthy women to investigate directly whether sleep deprivation impairs endothelial function and to identify underlying mechanisms. Methods: Healthy women with normal habitual sleep (7-9 h/day) were randomly allocated to 6-weeks of adequate sleep (7-9 h/day) or sleep deprivation (1.5 h less than habitual sleep) in a crossover design. Sleep duration was monitored objectively by actigraphy. EC harvesting and brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) were performed at baseline and the end of adequate sleep and sleep deprivation period. Results: Twenty-eight healthy women (mean [SE] age 35±13 years; BMI 25±3 kg/m2) participated. Compared with adequate sleep, sleep deprivation reduced FMD (mean±SE 8.65±0.48 vs. 7.35±0.39, p=0.02) and increased EC inflammation (nuclear factor-κB nuclear fluorescence area mean±SE 1.36±0.24 vs. 2.04±0.38 μm2, p=0.03 and mRNA expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 mean±SE 1.00±0.19 vs. 2.31±0.72, p=0.04) compared with adequate sleep. Sleep deprivation increased EC oxidative stress by 67% compared with adequate sleep (redox sensitive fluorogenic probe fluorescence intensity, p=0.002) without upregulating antioxidant response. Using RNA-seq and a predicted protein-protein interaction algorithm, we identified reduced expression of serum response factor, a transcription factor that primes cortical response to sleep deprivation, and its endothelial target Defective in Cullin Neddylation-1 Domain Containing 3 as novel mediators of impaired nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2-mediated antioxidant responses in ECs in sleep deprivation. Conclusion: Sleep deprivation impairs clearance of endothelial oxidant stress accumulated during wakefulness leading to endothelial dysfunction and potentially increased cardiovascular risk in women. Trial Registration Number: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02835261