Allan I. Pack, MD, PhD

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				Allan I. Pack, M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Medicine; Director Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology University of Pennsylvania Medical Center Translational Research Laboratory Building 125 South 31st Street (215) 662-3302 Fax: (215) 662-7749 email: pack@mail.med.upenn.edu Click here for selected publications since Dr. Pack's arrival at Penn RESEARCH INTERESTS Neural control of respiration; effect of sleep on neural control of respiration, sleep apnea syndrome RESEARCH TECHNIQUES Extracellular and intracellular recording; chronic recording of muscle activity; in vitro studies of pattern generation; analysis of gene expression; analysis of neurotransmitters by HPLC; immunohistochemistry; insitu hybridization; transgenic models RESEARCH SUMMARY The major interest of our research group is to study the neurobiological basis of obstructive sleep apnea and the neural mechanisms that result in sleepiness (the most important consequence of the disease). The studies being done are utilizing a number of different experimental approaches to identify the neural mechanisms involved in generation of apnea in REM sleep. The studies are investigating the mechanism for loss of muscle activity during REM sleep at the level of motoneuron and in the upstream circuitry. For the latter, particular attention is focused on the pendulo-pontine tegmental nucleus. Here we are utilizing studies in chronic animals - cats and rats - during natural sleep. Sleepiness due to sleep fragmentation is likely to be the result of excess "sleep promoting factors." One such factor is the cytokine - interleukin-1. Studies in our laboratory are showing that sleep fragmentation results in increases in IL-1 gene expression in the hypothalamus. We are combining these studies in transgenic animals. We have currently obtained a neuron-specific transgenic overexpressing IL-1 receptor antagonist and are studying sleep patterns in this mouse and its response to sleep deprivation. The Pack Lab