TY - JOUR
T1 - Entrainment of the circadian clock in the liver by feeding
AU - Stokkan, K. A.
AU - Yamazaki, S.
AU - Tei, H.
AU - Sakaki, Y.
AU - Menaker, M.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2007 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2001/1/19
Y1 - 2001/1/19
N2 - Circadian rhythms of behavior are driven by oscillators in the brain that are coupled to the environmental light cycle. Circadian rhythms of gene expression occur widely in peripheral organs. It is unclear how these multiple rhythms are coupled together to form a coherent-system. To study such coupling, we investigated the effects of cycles of food availability (which exert powerful entraining effects on behavior) on the rhythms of gene expression in the liver, lung, and suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). We used a transgenic rat model whose tissues express luciferase in vitro. Although rhythmicity in the SCN remained phase-locked to the light-dark cycle, restricted feeding rapidly entrained the liver, shifting its rhythm by 10 hours within 2 days. Our results demonstrate that feeding cycles can entrain the liver independently of the SCN and the light cycle, and they suggest the need to reexamine the mammalian circadian hierarchy. They also raise the possibility that peripheral circadian oscillators like those in the liver may be coupled to the SCN primarily through rhythmic behavior, such as feeding.
AB - Circadian rhythms of behavior are driven by oscillators in the brain that are coupled to the environmental light cycle. Circadian rhythms of gene expression occur widely in peripheral organs. It is unclear how these multiple rhythms are coupled together to form a coherent-system. To study such coupling, we investigated the effects of cycles of food availability (which exert powerful entraining effects on behavior) on the rhythms of gene expression in the liver, lung, and suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). We used a transgenic rat model whose tissues express luciferase in vitro. Although rhythmicity in the SCN remained phase-locked to the light-dark cycle, restricted feeding rapidly entrained the liver, shifting its rhythm by 10 hours within 2 days. Our results demonstrate that feeding cycles can entrain the liver independently of the SCN and the light cycle, and they suggest the need to reexamine the mammalian circadian hierarchy. They also raise the possibility that peripheral circadian oscillators like those in the liver may be coupled to the SCN primarily through rhythmic behavior, such as feeding.
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U2 - 10.1126/science.291.5503.490
DO - 10.1126/science.291.5503.490
M3 - Article
C2 - 11161204
AN - SCOPUS:0035910387
VL - 291
SP - 490
EP - 493
JO - Science
JF - Science
SN - 0036-8075
IS - 5503
ER -