One receptor, two functions: how a GPCR regulates sleep onset and duration in C. elegans

Date

May 8, 2026

Time

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Speaker

Lorenzo Rossi

Affiliation

Bringmann Lab, BIOTEC, TU Dresden

Language

en

Main Topic

Biologie

Host

Rita Mateus

Description

Sleep is an essential state that fulfills higher brain functions as well as basic vital processes. Too little or excessive sleep impairs sleep functions, driving the evolutionary need for precise neural mechanisms that regulate sleep duration. Sleep-active neurons release neurotransmitters and neuropeptides upon depolarization to determine when an organism falls asleep. In C. elegans, the depolarization of the single sleep-active neuron RIS determines sleep via the release of the FLP-11 neuropeptide. Yet, how RIS and FLP-11 control sleep remains unclear. In this talk, I will present how RIS and FLP-11 control sleep through the Gi/o-protein coupled receptor DMSR-1. I will show how, using cell-specific knockdowns, we demonstrate that dmsr-1 induces sleep by acting in cholinergic neurons, while the receptor mediates negative feedback control of RIS that limits sleep duration. Thus, DMSR-1 controls both the initiation and limitation of sleep, effectively coupling sleep induction with a sleep-stop signal. Neuropeptide-GPCR signaling might underlie similar dual mechanisms of sleep control in other species, and self-inhibition of sleep-active neurons might represent a conserved mechanism for limiting the duration of sleep.

Last modified: May 8, 2026, 7:36:08 AM