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Manipulation of Rhythmic Food Intake in Mice Using a Custom-Made Feeding System
Published on: December 16, 2022
High-fat feeding alters the clock synchronization to light.
Jorge Mendoza1, Paul Pévet, Etienne Challet
1Institut de Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, UMR7168, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Louis Pasteur, 5 rue Blaise Pascal, 67084 Strasbourg, France.
The Journal of Physiology
|October 22, 2008
Summary
High-fat diets disrupt the body's internal clock, impairing its ability to synchronize with light cues. This study shows high-fat feeding alters circadian rhythms and molecular responses in the brain.
Area of Science:
- Circadian Biology
- Metabolic Syndrome Research
- Neuroscience
Background:
- High-fat diets induce metabolic syndrome hallmarks like obesity and insulin resistance in rodents.
- Metabolic diseases disrupt physiological functions and temporal organization.
- The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) master clock regulates physiological rhythms and can be influenced by feeding cues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if hypercaloric (high-fat) diets affect the light-resetting properties of the SCN clock.
- To determine the impact of high-fat feeding on circadian synchronization to light.
Main Methods:
- Mice were fed high-fat or control (chow) diets for 3 months.
- Photic synchronization was assessed using wheel-running activity and body temperature rhythms.
- Molecular markers (c-FOS, P-ERK) in the SCN were analyzed after light exposure.
Main Results:
- High-fat diet mice showed increased body mass, hyperleptinemia, hyperglycemia, and hyperinsulinemia.
- Impaired re-entrainment to a shifted light-dark cycle ('jet-lag') and reduced phase-advancing responses to light were observed.
- Light-induced expression of c-FOS and P-ERK in the SCN was significantly reduced in high-fat fed mice.
Conclusions:
- High-fat feeding impairs the circadian system's ability to synchronize with environmental light cues.
- Molecular pathways within the SCN involved in light-induced phase shifting are dampened by high-fat diets.
- Dietary fat intake significantly impacts circadian clock function and its responsiveness to photic stimuli.
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