bims-ciryme Biomed News
on Circadian rhythms and metabolism
Issue of 2021‒06‒06
two papers selected by
Gabriela Da Silva Xavier
University of Birmingham


  1. Nat Metab. 2021 May 31.
      The mammalian circadian system consists of a central clock in the brain that synchronizes clocks in the peripheral tissues. Although the hierarchy between central and peripheral clocks is established, little is known regarding the specificity and functional organization of peripheral clocks. Here, we employ altered feeding paradigms in conjunction with liver-clock mutant mice to map disparities and interactions between peripheral rhythms. We find that peripheral clocks largely differ in their responses to feeding time. Disruption of the liver-clock, despite its prominent role in nutrient processing, does not affect the rhythmicity of clocks in other peripheral tissues. Yet, unexpectedly, liver-clock disruption strongly modulates the transcriptional rhythmicity of peripheral tissues, primarily on daytime feeding. Concomitantly, liver-clock mutant mice exhibit impaired glucose and lipid homeostasis, which are aggravated by daytime feeding. Overall, our findings suggest that, upon nutrient challenge, the liver-clock buffers the effect of feeding-related signals on rhythmicity of peripheral tissues, irrespective of their clocks.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-021-00395-7
  2. J Biol Rhythms. 2021 May 31. 7487304211014622
      The circadian clock is the broadly conserved, protein-based, timekeeping mechanism that synchronizes biology to the Earth's 24-h light-dark cycle. Studies of the mechanisms of circadian timekeeping have placed great focus on the role that individual protein-protein interactions play in the creation of the timekeeping loop. However, research has shown that clock proteins most commonly act as part of large macromolecular protein complexes to facilitate circadian control over physiology. The formation of these complexes has led to the large-scale study of the proteins that comprise these complexes, termed here "circadian interactomics." Circadian interactomic studies of the macromolecular protein complexes that comprise the circadian clock have uncovered many basic principles of circadian timekeeping as well as mechanisms of circadian control over cellular physiology. In this review, we examine the wealth of knowledge accumulated using circadian interactomics approaches to investigate the macromolecular complexes of the core circadian clock, including insights into the core mechanisms that impart circadian timing and the clock's regulation of many physiological processes. We examine data acquired from the investigation of the macromolecular complexes centered on both the activating and repressing arm of the circadian clock and from many circadian model organisms.
    Keywords:  Arabidopsis; Drosophila; Neurospora; cyanobacteria; interactomics; macromolecular protein complexes
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1177/07487304211014622