A conserved role for frizzled in sleep architecture

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Genetics
• Behavioral Biology

Background:

• Studies in *Drosophila melanogaster* suggest a role for the Wnt signaling receptor *frizzled* in sleep regulation.
• The Wnt signaling pathway is evolutionarily conserved across diverse species.
• The murine homolog of *frizzled* is *frizzled class receptor 1* (*Fzd1*).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of *Fzd1* in mouse sleep.
• To determine if *Fzd1* deficiency impacts learning, memory, and anxiety-like behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Generation of *Fzd1*-deficient mice using a CRISPR transgenic approach.
• Assessment of sleep characteristics via video assay.
• Evaluation of learning and memory using the novel object recognition (NOR) paradigm.

Main Results:

• *Fzd1*-deficient mice exhibited altered sleep patterns compared to wild-type littermate controls.
• No significant differences were observed in the NOR paradigm between *Fzd1*-deficient and control mice.
• *Fzd1*-deficient mice displayed increased anxiety-like behavior.

Conclusions:

• *Fzd1* plays a role in regulating sleep in mice.
• The study validates the translation of natural variation studies in *Drosophila* to identify sleep-related genes in vertebrates.
• While not affecting learning and memory in the NOR test, *Fzd1* deficiency is linked to anxiety-like behaviors.