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Updated: Jun 8, 2026
06:53
Parallel Measurement of Circadian Clock Gene Expression and Hormone Secretion in Human Primary Cell Cultures
Published on: November 11, 2016
Circadian clocks and cell division: what's the pacemaker?
1Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. carl.h.johnson@vanderbilt.edu
Cell Cycle (Georgetown, Tex.)
|October 5, 2010
Summary
The circadian clock, which regulates daily biological rhythms, gates the cell division cycle. Emerging evidence suggests this timing mechanism in mammals may involve a post-translational oscillator, not just transcription-translation feedback loops.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Chronobiology
- Cancer Research
Background:
- The cell division cycle (CDC) and circadian clock are intertwined biological processes.
- Circadian disruption is linked to increased cancer susceptibility.
- The traditional model for circadian rhythmicity is the transcription & translation feedback loop (TTFL).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the core mechanism of the circadian clock that gates cell division in mammalian cells.
- To explore the potential role of post-translational oscillators (PTOs) in circadian pacemaking.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent evidence from studies on cyanobacteria, synthetic oscillators, and immortalized cell lines.
- Analysis of the interplay between the cell division cycle and circadian rhythms.
Main Results:
- The circadian clock gates the cell division cycle, ensuring biological processes occur at appropriate times.
- Recent studies suggest a post-translational oscillator (PTO) may be the core circadian pacemaking mechanism in mammalian cells, challenging the TTFL model.
Conclusions:
- The intermeshing of circadian and cell division cycles is crucial for biological timing.
- A post-translational oscillator (PTO) mechanism is proposed as the core pacemaker for circadian-regulated cell division in mammals.
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