Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 11, 2026

Parallel Measurement of Circadian Clock Gene Expression and Hormone Secretion in Human Primary Cell Cultures
Published on: November 11, 2016
Mammalian circadian clock system: Molecular mechanisms for pharmaceutical and medical sciences
Hitoshi Okamura1, Masao Doi, Jean-Michel Fustin
1Department of Systems Biology, Kyoto University, Japan. okamurah@pharm.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
An internal circadian (from the Latin "circa" meaning "about" and "dien" meaning "day") clock has been found across kingdoms of life, a testimony that circadian rhythms are a basic feature of life on earth. Physiologically relevant circadian time is generated at the level of transcription-(post)translation feedback loop of clock genes, which machinery can be found in most cells throughout the body. Lesions of the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) abolish clock oscillations in the body, indicating thereby that rhythm generation is a hierarchial system with the SCN at the top. Disrupting this exquisitely harmonious system causes abnormal expression of cell-type specific clock-controlled genes, as revealed by the etiology of life-style related diseases such as hypertension.
Related Concept Videos
Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation
Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation
Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses
Chronopharmacokinetics: Circadian Rhythms and Influence on Drug Response
The time of drug administration is an important factor to consider, as it can influence the toxic dose of a drug. For example, a study conducted by Prins et al. in 1997 examined the effects of the timing of...
Management of Insomnia
Positive Regulator Molecules

