Synchronization of the Molecular Clockwork by Light- and Food-Related Cues in Mammals
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Abstract
The molecular clockwork in mammals involves various clock genes with specific temporal expression patterns. Synchronization of the master circadian clock located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is accomplished mainly via daily resetting of the phase of the clock by light stimuli. Phase shifting responses to light are correlated with induction of Per1, Per2 and Dec1 expression and a possible reduction of Cry2 expression within SCN cells. The timing of peripheral oscillators is controlled by the SCN when food is available ad libitum. Time of feeding, as modulated by temporal restricted feeding, is a potent 'Zeitgeber' (synchronizer) for peripheral oscillators with only weak synchronizing influence on the SCN clockwork. When restricted feeding is coupled with caloric restriction, however, timing of clock gene expression is altered within the SCN, indicating that the SCN function is sensitive to metabolic cues. The components of the circadian timing system can be differentially synchronized according to distinct, sometimes conflicting, temporal (time of light exposure and feeding) and homeostatic (metabolic) cues.
Copyright © 2003 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG
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Articles in the same Issue
- The Circadian Clock of the Unicellular Eukaryotic Model Organism Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
- Cardiovascular Control by the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus: Neural and Neuroendocrine Mechanisms in Human and Rat
- Synchronization of the Molecular Clockwork by Light- and Food-Related Cues in Mammals
- Identification of Rhythmic Subsystems in the Circadian Cycle of Crassulacean Acid Metabolism under Thermoperiodic Perturbations
- Age-Dependent Effects of Conditioning on Cholinergic and Vasopressin Systems in the Rat Suprachiasmatic Nucleus
- The Magnetofection Method: Using Magnetic Force to Enhance Gene Delivery
- The Protease Inhibitor Bikunin, a Novel Anti-Metastatic Agent
- Transcriptional Regulation of the Urokinase Receptor (u-PAR) – A Central Molecule of Invasion and Metastasis
- Identification and Characterization of KAT, a Novel Gene Preferentially Expressed in Several Human Cancer Cell Lines
- Trichostatin A and Structurally Related Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Induce 5-Lipoxygenase Promoter Activity
- Treatment of Tumor Cells with Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Results in Altered Recruitment of Methyl-CpG Binding Proteins to a Methylated CpG Island
- Intra- and Interspecies Interactions between Prion Proteins and Effects of Mutations and Polymorphisms
- Contribution of the Absolutely Conserved B8Gly to the Foldability of Insulin
- Fabin, a Novel Calcyon-Like and Glucanase-Like Protein with Mitogenic, Antifungal and Translation-Inhibitory Activities from Broad Beans
- Quantification of Elastase-Like Activity in 13 Human Cancer Cell Lines and in an Immortalized Human Epithelial Cell Line by RP-HPLC
- Differences in the Activation Mechanism between the α and β Subunits of Human Meprin
