Circadian-clock system in mouse liver affected by insulin resistance

Circadian rhythms are exhibited in the physiological and behavioral processes of all mammals; they are generated by intracellular levels of circadian oscillators, which are named as a set of circadian-clock genes. These genes compose the transcriptional/translational feedback loops to regulate not only circadian rhythmicity, but also energy metabolism. Previous studies have shown that obesity and diabetes cause the dysregulation of the circadian-clock system, and vice versa. However, some diabetes subjects are lean with insulin resistance and the mechanisms of insulin resistance without obesity are much less well known. Therefore, whether insulin resistance alone is enough to influence the expression of circadian-clock genes is uncertain. This study employs a neonatal streptozotocin (STZ)-treated paradigm in mice to model the molecular and physiological progress of nonobese insulin resistance. A single injection of STZ into 2-d-old male C57BL/6 mice induces nonobese, hyperglycemic and hyperinsulinemic conditions, and the levels of gene expression in the liver by a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction are then measured. Although the levels of Bmal1 (brain and muscle Arnt-like protein-1), Per2 (period 2), and Cry1 (cryptochrome 1) mRNA expression in the liver change during the progress of insulin resistance conditions, the gene expression patterns still show circadian rhythmicity. This study suggests that changes in the hepatic circadian-clock gene expression mark an early event in the metabolic disruption associated with insulin resistance. Furthermore, 2 wks of treatment with the thiazolidinedione, pioglitazone, fully resolve the dysfunction in metabolic parameters and the changes in circadian-clock gene expression from early insulin resistance conditions. These results indicate that the circadian-clock system is sensitive to insulin resistance, and that treatment with thiazolidinediones can resolve changes in the circadian-clock system in a timely manner. Thus, strengthening the peripheral circadian-clock system may counteract the adverse physiological consequences in the metabolic syndrome.