Entrainment of the circadian clock in the liver by feeding

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.     

Human circadian rhythms in continuous darkness: entrainment by social cues

Three groups of two subjects each were kept in underground chambers, first for 4 days in an artificial light-dark cycle, and thereafter for 4 days in complete darkness. They lived on a rigorous time schedule. Physiological as well as psychological functions were measured at 3-hour intervals. There were no differences in the results between the two sections of the experiment. Social cues are sufficient to entrain human circadian rhythms, and absence of light has no immediate effect on the functions measured.     

Estradiol shortens the period of hamster circadian rhythms

Continuous administration of estradiol benzoate by means of subcutaneously implanted capsules shortened the free-running circadian period of locomotor activity of blind hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) that had had their ovaries removed. Estradiol also advanced the phase of the wheel running of sighted female hamsters without ovaries that were entrained to a photoperiod with 12 hours of light and 12 of darkness. These results, and findings from hamsters undergoing natural estrous cycles, indicate that endogenous estradiol is involved in the regulation of circadian periodicity.     

Differential rescue of light- and food-entrainable circadian rhythms

When food is plentiful, circadian rhythms of animals are powerfully entrained by the light-dark cycle. However, if animals have access to food only during their normal sleep cycle, they will shift most of their circadian rhythms to match the food availability. We studied the basis for entrainment of circadian rhythms by food and light in mice with targeted disruption of the clock gene Bmal1, which lack circadian rhythmicity. Injection of a viral vector containing the Bmal1 gene into the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus restored light-entrainable, but not food-entrainable, circadian rhythms. In contrast, restoration of the Bmal1 gene only in the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus restored the ability of animals to entrain to food but not to light. These results demonstrate that the dorsomedial hypothalamus contains a Bmal1-based oscillator that can drive food entrainment of circadian rhythms.     

Testosterone induces "splitting" of circadian locomotor activity rhythms in birds

Under the influence of testosterone, the free-running circadian rhythm of locomotor activity of the starling, Sturnus vulgaris, tends to "split" into two components which temporarily run with different circadian frequencies: "splitting" occurred in intact birds whose testes grew, and in castrated birds that were injected with testosterone. Since "splitting" most probably reflects the temporal separation of two (or two groups of) circadian oscillators, these results suggest that testosterone affects the mutual coupling of circadian oscillators controlling locomotor activity.     

The opioid peptide dynorphin, circadian rhythms, and starvation

Dynorphin, an opioid peptide whose functions are unknown, is found in brain, pituitary, and peripheral organs. Specific radioimmunoassays were used to measure dynorphin in the hypothalamus and pituitary, during the day and at night, as a function of food and water deprivation. Immunoreactive dynorphin was increased in the hypothalamus and decreased in the pituitary at night. Water deprivation led to more than 50 percent reduction in daytime levels of pituitary dynorphin and concomitant increases in hypothalamic dynorphin.     

Searching for genes underlying behavior: lessons from circadian rhythms

The success of forward genetic (from phenotype to gene) approaches to uncover genes that drive the molecular mechanism of circadian clocks and control circadian behavior has been unprecedented. Links among genes, cells, neural circuits, and circadian behavior have been uncovered in the Drosophila and mammalian systems, demonstrating the feasibility of finding single genes that have major effects on behavior. Why was this approach so successful in the elucidation of circadian rhythms? This article explores the answers to this question and describes how the methods used successfully for identifying the molecular basis of circadian rhythms can be applied to other behaviors such as anxiety, addiction, and learning and memory.     

热应激诱导大鼠小肠昼夜节律基因差异表达的研究

采用石蜡切片H.E染色观察热应激大鼠小肠形态学变化,利用Realtime-PCR技术对小肠中昼夜节律相关基因的表达进行研究。结果:大鼠小肠上皮出现严重损伤,肠黏膜绒毛顶端上皮细胞脱落,固有层裸露;热应激导致Per2和DBP基因瞬时表达极大升高,节律性受到严重影响,Bmal1基因瞬时表达差异不明显,其mRNA表达量峰值后移。     

Comment on "Differential rescue of light- and food-entrainable circadian rhythms"

Fuller et al. (Reports, 23 May 2008, p. 1074) reported that the dorsomedial hypothalamus contains a Bmal1-based oscillator that can drive food-entrained circadian rhythms. We report that mice bearing a null mutation of Bmal1 exhibit normal food-anticipatory circadian rhythms. Lack of food anticipation in Bmal1-/- mice reported by Fuller et al. may reflect morbidity due to weight loss, thus raising questions about their conclusions.     

Multiple circadian oscillators regulate the timing of behavioral and endocrine rhythms in female golden hamsters

A single daily "surge" in pituitary luteinizing hormone release was observed in ovariectomized-estrogen-treated hamsters expressing an intact circadian rhythm of locomotor activity. In contrast, two luteinizing hormone surges occurred within a single 24-hour period in hamsters whose activity rhythm had dissociated or "split" into two distinct components. These observations indicate that both behavioral and endocrine circadian rhythms are regulated by the same multioscillator system, which seems to be composed of at least two distinct circadian oscillators.     

Suppression of pain by sound

A procedure involving music and noise has been effective in suppressing pain in 5000 dental operations. The music promotes relaxation, and the noise (the main agent) directly suppresses pain. The dental procedure and results are described, and an explanatory hypothesis is suggested.     

Fungal endogenous rhythms expressed by spiral figures

Culture zonations in two fungi, Nectria cinnabarina and Penicillium diversum, are expressions of endogenous rhythms. These culture zonations may take the form of either concentric rings or Archimedes' spirals. The rhythm in N. cinnabarina is noncircadian. The rhythm in P. diversum is relatively insensitive to temperature and has a period of approximately 24 hours. The lack of a demonstrable mechanism for phase shifting suggests that this rhythm may also be noncircadian.     

Incidence of sex chromatin in Gallus domesticus

The presence of so-called sex chromatin has been demonstrated in the interphase nuclei of the cells of the domestic chicken (Gallus domesticus). Definite sex dimorphism was observed for the incidence of this nuclear component; the frequency of its occurrence in females was at least ten times that of its occurrence in the males, ranging from 22 percent in the duodenal muscle cells to 52 percent in the epidermal cells of a growing feather.     

Free-running activity rhythms in the rat: entrainment by melatonin

The pineal gland hormone melatonin may play a role in synchronization of rat circadian rhythms. Free-running activity rhythms of the rat were entrained by a daily melatonin injection, with entrainment occurring when the onset of activity coincided with the time of daily injections. When injections were stopped, activity rhythms became free-running again. Thus in pharmacological experiments, the time of day of melatonin administration is crucial.     

微波消解-原子荧光法测定竹丝鸡肉中的砷含量

采用微波消解-原子荧光法对广东竹丝鸡肉中有毒有害元素砷的含量进行抽样检测分析。结果表明:该方法检出限为0.067μg/L,回收率为95.7%~101.2%;竹丝鸡肉中砷的检出率为100%,平均残留量为0.041 mg/kg,符合我国无公害畜禽肉中砷的限量标准,并达到了我国绿色食品中砷限量标准。