Prostaglandin D2 in sleep-wake regulation: recent progress and perspectives

Prostaglandin (PG) D2 is one of the most active endogenous sleep-promoting substances, which induces physiological sleep in rodents, primates, and most probably in humans as well. In this update article, we review recent experimental results concerning the molecular mechanisms underlying sleep-wake regulation by PGD2, the link between the humoral regulation by the PGD2 system, and the neural network involved in the promotion of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and the abnormality of NREM sleep regulation found in gene-manipulated mice for PGD synthase.