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10:38
Monitoring Cell-autonomous Circadian Clock Rhythms of Gene Expression Using Luciferase Bioluminescence Reporters
Published on: September 27, 2012
Intracellular and intercellular processes determine robustness of the circadian clock
John B Hogenesch1, Erik D Herzog
1Department of Pharmacology, Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. hogenesc@mail.med.upenn.edu
FEBS Letters
|May 4, 2011
Summary
Circadian clocks coordinate organismal functions with environmental changes. This review highlights mechanisms that enable these biological clocks to reset accurately, ensuring robust timekeeping across various cell types.
Area of Science:
- Chronobiology
- Molecular Biology
- Cellular Biology
Background:
- Circadian clocks are endogenous timekeeping mechanisms found in most organisms.
- They regulate physiological and behavioral rhythms in response to environmental cues.
- Understanding circadian clock resetting is crucial for comprehending biological timekeeping.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent findings on the mechanisms underlying circadian clock resetting.
- To elucidate how intracellular and intercellular signals convey environmental information to circadian clocks.
- To highlight the robustness of biological timekeeping in diverse cell types.
Main Methods:
- Review of genetic, biochemical, and cellular experimental results.
- Analysis of identified component genes and signal transduction pathways.
- Examination of intracellular and intercellular communication mechanisms.
Main Results:
- Over a dozen genes and a signal transduction pathway support cell-autonomous circadian clock function.
- Biological clocks exhibit a key characteristic: resetting in response to relevant stimuli.
- Intracellular and intercellular mechanisms effectively transmit time-resetting information to circadian cells.
Conclusions:
- Circadian clocks possess sophisticated mechanisms for resetting, ensuring accurate timekeeping.
- Both intracellular and intercellular pathways are vital for conveying environmental time cues.
- This robust timekeeping is essential for coordinating physiology and behavior.
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