昼夜节律钟调控代谢的研究进展

生理和行为的昼夜节律性调控对健康生活是必需的。越来越多的流行病学和遗传学证据显示昼夜节律的破坏与代谢紊乱性疾病相关联。在分子水平上,昼夜节律受到时钟蛋白组成的转录一翻译负反馈环的调控。时钟蛋白通过以下两种途径调节代谢：首先,时钟蛋白作为转录因子直接调节一些代谢关键步骤的限速酶和代谢相关核受体的表达,其次作为代谢相关核受体的辅调节因子来激活或抑制其转录活性。虽然时钟蛋白对代谢途径的调节导致代谢物水平呈昼夜节律振荡,但是产生的代谢物反过来又可以影响昼夜节律钟基因的表达,进而影响昼夜节律钟。深入研究昼夜节律钟与代谢的交互调节可能为治疗某些代谢紊乱性疾病提供新的治疗方案。     

运动介导的心脏代谢与生物钟相互调节作用研究

在哺乳动物中,昼夜节律主要由生物钟基因的转录翻译反馈回路产生,生物钟基因通过转录翻译反馈回路调控下游的时钟控制基因,从而影响体内的各种生理活动。心脏作为人体外周组织中的重要器官,其生物钟系统受到运动和营养等授时因子的调控。当心肌细胞的生物钟基因被遗传性破坏或表达异常时,会严重影响心脏的代谢活动,导致心脏生理功能减退,增加心脏不良事件的发生风险,因此心脏生物钟在维持心脏代谢活动和生理功能方面发挥着重要作用。运动作为授时因子,可以独立于中枢生物钟对心脏生物钟进行调节。同时运动作为改善心血管功能的重要手段,可能通过激活下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴（HPA）和交感-肾上腺-髓质轴（SAM）、调节能量代谢等途径影响心脏的代谢活动和生物钟基因的转录,维持心脏生物钟的稳定,促进心脏健康。对运动调控心脏生物钟的机制研究,可以为倒班、熬夜人群以及心血管疾病患者提供新的预防和治疗思路。未来需要更多研究来探索运动调节心脏代谢活动和生物钟的机制、运动对光周期诱导的昼夜节律紊乱心脏生物钟的影响及机制以及运动调节心脏生物钟对其他外周器官代谢活动和昼夜节律的影响。     

ELF3 recruitment to the PRR9 promoter requires other Evening Complex members in the Arabidopsis circadian clock

Biological timekeeping is essential for proper growth and development. Organisms such as the model plant Arabidopsis use the circadian clock to coordinate biological processes with the environment so that changes in conditions are anticipated and processes favorably phased. Despite the identification of numerous clock genes, knowledge of their molecular connectivity and influence on output programs remains limited. We recently showed LUX encodes a sequence-specific DNA-binding protein that directly regulates expression of the morning clock gene PRR9. We also showed that LUX interacts with the evening-phased proteins ELF3 and ELF4 to form a complex called the Evening Complex (EC). The EC binds the PIF4 and PIF5 promoters to control hypocotyl growth as a clock output. Here we provide evidence that LUX also recruits ELF3 to the PRR9 promoter. As with the PIF4 and PIF5 promoters, both LUX and its close homolog NOX are required for recruitment. Hence the entire EC likely functions together as part of the core clock oscillator to optimize plant fitness.     

Circadian dysfunction in response to in?vivo treatment with the mitochondrial toxin 3-nitropropionic acid

Sleep disorders are common in neurodegenerative diseases including Huntington''s disease (HD) and develop early in the disease process. Mitochondrial alterations are believed to play a critical role in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases. In the present study, we evaluated the circadian system of mice after inhibiting mitochondrial complex II of the respiratory chain with the toxin 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP). We found that a subset of mice treated with low doses of 3-NP exhibited severe circadian deficit in behavior. The temporal patterning of sleep behavior is also disrupted in some mice with evidence of difficulty in the initiation of sleep behavior. Using the open field test during the normal sleep phase, we found that the 3-NP-treated mice were hyperactive. The molecular clockwork responsible for the generation of circadian rhythms as measured by PER2::LUCIFERASE was disrupted in a subset of mice. Within the SCN, the 3-NP treatment resulted in a reduction in daytime firing rate in the subset of mice which had a behavioral deficit. Anatomically, we confirmed that all of the treated mice showed evidence for cell loss within the striatum but we did not see evidence for gross SCN pathology. Together, the data demonstrates that chronic treatment with low doses of the mitochondrial toxin 3-NP produced circadian deficits in a subset of treated mice. This work does raise the possibility that the neural damage produced by mitochondrial dysfunction can contribute to the sleep/circadian dysfunction seen so commonly in neurodegenerative diseases.     

蓝藻生物钟核心振荡器的KaiB-KaiC相互作用机制

蓝藻是已知的具有昼夜节律生物钟调控机制的最简单生物,其生物钟的核心是一个由三个蛋白质(Kai A、Kai B、Kai C)组成的,不依赖于转录翻译水平调控的核心振荡器.研究表明这三个蛋白质仅在体外试管中反应就会表现出周期性磷酸化振荡现象.分子水平研究表明:Kai A加速Kai C的自磷酸化,而Kai B抑制Kai A使Kai C去磷酸化,从而Kai C的磷酸化/去磷酸化形成周期性反复.但是Kai B如何与Kai A,Kai C相互作用,目前还不清楚.本文重点介绍了最近几年来在Kai B-Kai C相互作用机制上的研究进展,并结合我们的一些初步研究,对Kai B-Kai C相互作用的关键问题进行展望,以期为该体系的深入研究提供参考.     

hGM－CSF基因及其调控研究进展

人粒细胞－巨噬细胞集落刺激因子基因表达受到转录调控与转录后调控。５＇非转录区的一些顺式调控成分,如ＣＡＴＴ（Ａ／Ｔ）重复序列,富含ＧＣ序列,ＣＫ－１、ＣＫ－２、ｋＢ特异序列与可诱导的ＣｓＡ敏感增强子成分等在转录水平上调控ｈＧＭ－ＣＳＦ的表达。３＇非翻译区有一６２ｂｐ富含ＡＵ序列,这与ｍＲＮＡ的稳定性相关,在翻译水平调控ｈＧＭ－ＣＳＦ的表达,细胞因子与一些刺激因子通过不同的机制作用于ｈＧＭ－ＣＳＦ基     

生物钟在卵巢生理和病理中的作用

哺乳动物的昼夜节律是基因编码的分子钟在体内产生的一种以大约24 h为周期的生理现象,使机体的生理过程与外界环境的变化相协调,是对环境适应的一种表现.在哺乳动物中,繁殖生理功能受生物钟系统的调节.在下丘脑-垂体-卵巢(hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian,HPO)轴的各组织中均已观察到生物钟基因的...     

果蝇昼夜节律的分子机制研究进展

果蝇由于遗传易操作性而成为一个研究昼夜节律分子机制的理想模式生物 . 到目前为止,通过遗传学和生物化学方法已经鉴定到 10 多个时钟基因 (clock genes) 和许多时钟相关基因,包括时钟输入基因和钟控基因 . 这些时钟基因以及它们的相应产物组成两个互相依赖的转录 / 翻译反馈环路,从而调节行为和生理的昼夜节律 . 果蝇这种核心钟的工作原理同样见于哺乳动物 .     

Circadian clock rhythms in different adipose tissue model systems

ABSTRACT

Circadian clock-controlled 24-h oscillations in adipose tissues play an important role in the regulation of energy homeostasis, thus representing a potential drug target for prevention and therapy of metabolic diseases. For pharmacological screens, scalable adipose model systems are needed that largely recapitulate clock properties observed in vivo. In this study, we compared molecular circadian clock regulation in different ex vivo and in vitro models derived from murine adipose tissues. Explant cultures from three different adipose depots of PER2::LUC circadian reporter mice revealed stable and comparable rhythms of luminescence ex vivo. Likewise, primary pre- and mature adipocytes from these mice displayed stable luminescence rhythms, but with strong damping in mature adipocytes. Stable circadian periods were also observed using Bmal1-luc and Per2-luc reporters after lentiviral transduction of wild-type pre-adipocytes. SV40 immortalized adipocytes of murine brown, subcutaneous and epididymal adipose tissue origin showed rhythmic mRNA expression of the core clock genes Bmal1, Per2, Dbp and REV-erbα in pre- and mature adipocytes, with a maturation-associated increase in overall mRNA levels and amplitudes. A comparison of clock gene mRNA rhythm phases revealed specific changes between in vivo and ex vivo conditions. In summary, our data indicate that adipose culture systems to a large extent mimic in vivo tissue clock regulation. Thus, both explant and cell systems may be useful tools for large-scale screens for adipose clock regulating factors.     

hGM－CSF基因及其调控研究进展

人粒细胞-巨噬细胞集落刺激因子(hGM-CSF)基因表达受到转录调控与转录后调控.5＇非转录区的一些顺式调控成分,如CATT(A/T)重复序列,富含GC序列,CK-1、CK-2、kB特异序列与可诱导的CsA敏感增强子成分等在转录水平上调控hGM-CSF的表达.3＇非翻译区有一62bp富含AU序列,它与mRNA的稳定性相关,在翻译水平调控hGM-CSF的表达.细胞因子与一些刺激因子通过不同的机制作用于hGM-CSF基因,从而影响hGM-CSF的产生与分泌.