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Updated: Jul 6, 2026
10:38
Monitoring Cell-autonomous Circadian Clock Rhythms of Gene Expression Using Luciferase Bioluminescence Reporters
Published on: September 27, 2012
Circadian gene expression in the murine larynx
Takeshi Nishio1, Hideki Bando, Hitoshi Bamba
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, 465 Kajii-cho, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan. nishio-t@koto.kpu-m.ac.jp
Auris, Nasus, Larynx
|March 19, 2008
Summary
The larynx has a local circadian clock, controlled by the brain's central clock, influencing gene expression. This biological clock may explain why laryngeal disease symptoms vary by time of day.
Area of Science:
- Chronobiology
- Molecular Biology
- Otorhinolaryngology
Background:
- Airway disease symptoms, such as nighttime cough, often exhibit temporal patterns.
- Circadian rhythms, regulated by clock genes, are known to influence physiological processes.
- The role of the circadian clock in laryngeal tissue and its potential link to symptom timing remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the presence and function of circadian clock genes within the murine larynx.
- To determine if rhythmic expression of clock genes in the larynx correlates with time-specific laryngeal symptoms.
Main Methods:
- Utilized wild-type and mCry1(-/-)mCry2(-/-) mutant mice.
- Employed immunohistochemistry and Northern blotting to analyze the expression of key clock genes (mPer1, mPer2) and laryngeal proteins (MUC5b).
- Examined the impact of suprachiasmatic nucleus lesion on gene expression rhythms.
Main Results:
- mPer2 mRNA exhibited significant day-night expression differences, dependent on the suprachiasmatic nucleus and functional CRY1/CRY2 proteins.
- mPER1 and mPER2 proteins showed peak expression in the evening and trough in the early morning within laryngeal epithelium and submucosal glands.
- MUC5b protein displayed circadian oscillation in the laryngeal submucosal gland, unlike C/EBPbeta and HNF3beta.
Conclusions:
- Confirmed the existence of a local laryngeal circadian clock, regulated by the central suprachiasmatic nucleus.
- Demonstrated circadian rhythmicity of MUC5b protein in laryngeal submucosal glands.
- These findings suggest that rhythmic gene and protein expression in the larynx may underlie the time-specific nature of laryngeal disease symptoms.
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