Abstract:Aim To investigate the relationship between sleep deprivation and vascular aging, as well as the underlying mechanisms. Methods Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control group, senescence group, sleep deprivation group, and sleep deprivation+senescence group, with 6 rats in each group. The modified level table method deprived rats of sleep duration. Senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) staining was used to detect the senescence status of rat vascular tissue. The mRNA and protein expression of tumor suppressor protein p53, silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) and clock gene cryptochrome 1 (CRY1) was detected by real-time fluorescence quantification PCR (RT-qPCR), Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Results Compared with the control group, the intensity of SA-β-Gal staining was increased in the vascular tissues of the senescence group rats, the expression level of p53 was elevated , the expression level of SIRT1 was decreased. Similar changes were observed in the sleep deprivation group and the sleep deprivation+senescence group, including intensified SA-β-Gal staining, elevated p53 levels, and reduced SIRT1 levels in vascular tissues. Additionally, compared with the control group, the sleep deprivation group showed reduced CRY1 levels in vascular tissues, while only CRY1 mRNA levels were reduced in the sleep deprivation+senescence group. Furthermore, compared with the senescence group, the sleep deprivation+senescence group exhibited intensified SA-β-Gal staining, increased p53 level, decreased SIRT1 level, and reduced CRY1 mRNA level in vascular tissues. Conclusion Sleep deprivation may promote the expression of vascular aging-related factors, potentially through the inhibition of CRY1 expression in vascular tissues.