Gut AstA mediates sleep deprivation-induced energy wasting in Drosophila

Abstract Severe sleep deprivation (SD) has been highly associated with systemic energy wasting, such as lipid loss and glycogen depletion. Despite immune dysregulation and neurotoxicity observed in SD animals, whether and how the gut-secreted hormones participate in SD-induced disruption of energy homeostasis remains largely unknown. Using Drosophila as a conserved model organism, we characterize that production of intestinal Allatostatin A (AstA), a major gut-peptide hormone, is robustly increased in adult flies bearing severe SD. Interestingly, the removal of AstA production in the gut using specific drivers significantly improves lipid loss and glycogen depletion in SD flies without affecting sleep homeostasis. We reveal the molecular mechanisms whereby gut AstA promotes the release of an adipokinetic hormone (Akh), an insulin counter-regulatory hormone functionally equivalent to mammalian glucagon, to mobilize systemic energy reserves by remotely targeting its receptor AstA-R2 in Akh-producing cells. Similar regulation of glucagon secretion and energy wasting by AstA/galanin is also observed in SD mice. Further, integrating single-cell RNA sequencing and genetic validation, we uncover that severe SD results in ROS accumulation in the gut to augment AstA production via TrpA1. Altogether, our results demonstrate the essential roles of the gut-peptide hormone AstA in mediating SD-associated energy wasting.