bims-ciryme Biomed News
on Circadian rhythms and metabolism
Issue of 2026–08–16
two papers selected by
Gabriela Da Silva Xavier, University of Birmingham
  1. Meal timing entrains circadian rhythms in the dorsal vagal complex, a brainstem satiety centre.
  2. Diurnal regulation of Acyl-CoA synthetase 3 (ACSF3) governs rhythmic mitochondrial lysine-malonylation and daily hepatic metabolism.
  1. PLoS Biol. 2026 Aug;24(8): e3003936
    Meal timing entrains circadian rhythms in the dorsal vagal complex, a brainstem satiety centre.
    Lukasz Chrobok, Charlotte Muir, Tanya Chonkria Kaur, Emily Birt, Iliana Veneri, Jingyi Kathy Li, Timna Hitrec, Michael Ambler, Anthony Edward Pickering, Hugh David Piggins.
      The dorsal vagal complex (DVC) includes a multi-component brainstem satiety centre which has gained attention as a key target of anti-obesity pharmacotherapies. Our recent studies revealed its circadian timekeeping properties, with molecular and electrophysiological 24 h rhythms persisting independently of the primary hypothalamic clock. However, the factors entraining these brainstem oscillators and the downstream transcriptional targets of the DVC molecular clock remain unclear. Here, using PERIOD2::LUCIFERASE reporter mice and fluorescent in situ hybridisation, we quantitatively demonstrate rhythms in core clock gene expression in the caudal DVC ex vivo and in vivo. We show that the molecular clock is associated with rhythmic expression of numerous neurotransmitter receptor genes in the DVC in vivo, with the phase of both clock and clock-controlled gene expression tightly regulated by meal timing. These findings uncover food-entrained circadian rhythms in the DVC and have important implications for clinical studies targeting brainstem satiety mechanisms.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003936
  2. Cell Rep. 2026 Aug 07. pii: S2211-1247(26)00852-1. [Epub ahead of print]45(8): 117774
    Diurnal regulation of Acyl-CoA synthetase 3 (ACSF3) governs rhythmic mitochondrial lysine-malonylation and daily hepatic metabolism.
    Enora Le Questel, Charlène Besnard, Florian Atger, Yolène Foucher, Alwéna Tollec, Victoria Pakulska, Arsênio Rodrigues Oliveira, Chloé Cloteau, Mathilde Gourdel, Ivan Nemazanyy, Amélie Thouzeau, Cédric Le May, Mikaël Croyal, Yohann Couté, David Jacobi, Bertrand Cariou, Daniel Mauvoisin.
      Hepatic daily rhythms are coordinated by feeding and the molecular circadian clock, ensuring metabolic homeostasis. Disrupted feeding schedules promote circadian misalignment and metabolic diseases but the underlying mechanisms remain scarce. Post-translational modifications have emerged as key regulators of circadian metabolic outputs. Here, we show that the mitochondrial enzyme Acyl-CoA synthetase family member 3 (ACSF3) oscillates in phase with different feeding schedules to drive rhythmic lysine-malonylation and coordinate daily hepatic metabolism. Hepatic Acsf3 knockdown drastically affected lysine-malonylation rhythms, decreased fasting glycemia, insulin sensitivity, and AKT phosphorylation, indicative of perturbed glucose homeostasis. Concomitantly, Acsf3 knockdown shifted lipid oxidation from mitochondria to peroxisomes, enhanced lipogenesis and triglyceride synthesis, while increasing diurnal autophagy. Multi-omics profiling uncovered specific lysine-malonylation targets in glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, fatty-acid oxidation and autophagy. Our findings uncover hepatic ACSF3 as a pivotal molecular nexus that integrates feeding time with dynamic protein lysine-malonylation and orchestrates the diurnal rhythm of liver metabolism.
    Keywords:  ACSF3; CP: metabolism; CP: molecular biology; acyl-CoA synthetase 3; autophagy; circadian rhythms; lipid metabolism; liver metabolism; lysine-malonylation; mitochondria; multi-omics; post-translational modifications
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2026.117774
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