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Updated: Oct 1, 2026
Investigating Intestinal Inflammation in DSS-induced Model of IBD
Published on: February 1, 2012
Sleep fragmentation frequency is associated with distinct immune, microbial, and barrier-related profiles in
Ming-Shih Tu1,2, Ting-An Fan1,2, Yueh-Hsiang Huang3,4
1Graduate Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Background:
Sleep fragmentation is common in inflammatory bowel disease, but whether different fragmentation frequencies are associated with distinct biological responses during colitis remains unclear. This study examined endpoint-specific responses to low- and high-frequency sleep fragmentation in DSS-induced colitis in mice.
Methods:
Male C57BL/6 mice were assigned to Control, DSS, DSS with low-frequency sleep fragmentation (DSS+LSF), DSS with high-frequency sleep fragmentation (DSS+HSF), or high-frequency sleep fragmentation alone (HSF). Colitis was induced with 2% DSS for 7 days. Sleep fragmentation was applied for 12 h/day during the light phase at 60 sweeps/h for LSF or 240 sweeps/h for HSF. Clinical indices, histology, epithelial barrier-associated proteins, inflammatory and stress-related markers, colonic CD4+ T-cell subsets, fecal microbiota composition, and fecal SCFAs were assessed.
Results:
Clinical and macroscopic indices varied across experimental groups, but corrected comparisons among DSS-treated groups were not significant. Plasma corticosterone was increased in both DSS+LSF and DSS+HSF, whereas MPO was higher in DSS+LSF than in DSS+HSF. Colonic Th2 proportions were higher in DSS+HSF than in DSS and DSS+LSF. Other histological, barrier-associated, inflammatory, and metabolic findings were primarily descriptive.
Conclusions:
Low- and high-frequency sleep fragmentation were associated with distinct, endpoint-specific response profiles during DSS-induced colitis rather than a simple linear increase in disease severity. These findings support frequency-associated, domain-specific responses and warrant further longitudinal and mechanistic investigation.
