DPYD links glial lipids and myelination to sleep duration

DPYD orthologs promote sleep by regulating glial lipids and myelination in mouse and zebrafish, where their loss reduces myelination and sleep duration.

• Why it matters: Sleep regulation is heritable and conserved, yet the genetic mechanisms are unclear; this work targets how DPYD in glia could connect lipid biology to sleep.
• What they did: Using cross-species genetics and pharmacology, the authors test DPYD function in glia, assess oligodendrocyte enrichment, manipulate myelination in zebrafish, and examine Drosophila ensheathing glia lipid droplets.
• The result: Altering myelination is sufficient to perturb zebrafish sleep duration, and a human GWAS-linked cis-regulatory variant contacts the DPYD promoter in oligodendrocytes, linking the association to glial control.

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