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Updated: Jul 14, 2026
06:53
Parallel Measurement of Circadian Clock Gene Expression and Hormone Secretion in Human Primary Cell Cultures
Published on: November 11, 2016
Glucocorticoid signaling synchronizes the liver circadian transcriptome.
Akhilesh B Reddy1, Elizabeth S Maywood, Natasha A Karp
1MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Hills Road, Cambridge, Cabridgeshire, UK. areddy@cantab.net
Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.)
|June 1, 2007
Summary
Glucocorticoids synchronize about 60% of the body's circadian transcriptome, impacting daily metabolic programs. This hormonal regulation influences core clock genes and downstream targets, revealing a key mechanism in circadian rhythm synchronization.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Molecular Biology
- Chronobiology
Background:
- Circadian rhythms are controlled by local tissue clocks synchronized by the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN).
- These clocks coordinate tissue-specific metabolic programs through transcriptional regulation.
- Mechanisms of transcriptome synchronization and their contribution to circadian output are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of glucocorticoids in synchronizing the circadian transcriptome.
- To identify the molecular pathways mediating glucocorticoid-induced circadian gene expression.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of the circadian transcriptome.
- Investigating the direct and indirect effects of glucocorticoids on gene expression.
- Identifying key transcription factors involved in circadian regulation.
Main Results:
- Glucocorticoids alone synchronize approximately 60% of the circadian transcriptome.
- Glucocorticoids directly affect numerous downstream targets and indirectly regulate core clock genes (mPer1, Bmal1, mCry1, Dbp).
- Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 4-alpha (HNF4alpha) was identified as a crucial mediator linking circadian and glucocorticoid-regulated transcription.
Conclusions:
- Glucocorticoids orchestrate transcriptional cascades to synchronize a wide array of functionally important circadian genes.
- This hormonal signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in maintaining organism-wide circadian rhythm coordination.
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