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Updated: May 11, 2026
06:53
Parallel Measurement of Circadian Clock Gene Expression and Hormone Secretion in Human Primary Cell Cultures
Published on: November 11, 2016
Biological clocks and the digestive system.
1Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University, Digestive Disease Research Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-2576, USA. larry.scheving@mcmail.vanderbilt.edu
Gastroenterology
|August 10, 2000
Summary
Daily biological rhythms, or circadian rhythms, significantly impact digestive system functions like cell activity and organ structure. These rhythms are genetically controlled and found in both the brain and digestive organs.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Chronobiology
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Circadian rhythms regulate essential physiological processes in many organisms.
- Digestive organs exhibit daily variations in cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, and structure.
- Temporal variations in protein and gene expression are observed across digestive organs like the stomach, gut, liver, and pancreas.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review classic examples of circadian variation within the digestive system.
- To emphasize daily rhythms in digestive cell proliferation, function, and structure.
- To summarize emerging concepts of cellular timekeeping in the brain and digestive system.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on circadian rhythms in the digestive system.
- Emphasis on studies detailing temporal variations in digestive organ cell behavior.
- Summary of recent findings on the genetic basis of cellular timekeeping.
Main Results:
- Circadian rhythms influence cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, and structure in digestive organs.
- Feeding and light act as key regulators for digestive system clocks.
- Clock genes are expressed in both central (brain) and peripheral (digestive) tissues.
Conclusions:
- Circadian rhythms are fundamental to digestive system regulation.
- Digestive cells possess intrinsic timekeeping mechanisms.
- Further research into the genetic basis of digestive clocks is warranted.
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