Pyrroloquinoline quinone prevents sleep deprivation-induced DNA damage within dorsal pallium neurons of zebrafish via SIRT1-dependent regulation of ROS

Sleep is essential to animals with circadian rhythms. Sleep deprivation causes serious pathophysiological consequences, such as DNA damage and oxidative stress. Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is a bioactive food ingredient with antioxidant properties. Here, we used zebrafish continuous swimming paradigm sleep deprivation model to investigate the effect of PQQ on DNA damage. We found that DNA damage and neuronal activity increase following sleep deprivation. PQQ pretreatment reduced DNA damage in the zebrafish dorsal pallium. As an antioxidant, PQQ effectively inhibited reactive oxygen species (ROS) production induced by 2,2′-azobis-2-methyl-propanimidamide dihydrochloride (AAPH) and sleep deprivation, and upregulated the expression of antioxidant genes sod1 and gpx4b. Also, PQQ ameliorated the decreased silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) expression level, suggesting that PQQ may remove excessive ROS by activating SIRT1, thereby reducing DNA damage within neurons. This study indicates that PQQ has strong antioxidant function, provides ideas for further development of ingredients for sleep recovery.