Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026
11:56
In Vitro Bioluminescence Assay to Characterize Circadian Rhythm in Mammary Epithelial Cells
Published on: September 28, 2017
The circadian clock in cancer development and therapy
1Department of Pediatrics/U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service/Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science
|August 1, 2013
Summary
Mammalian circadian rhythms, regulated by an internal clock, impact health. Disruptions to this clock are linked to increased cancer risk and offer new therapeutic strategies.
Area of Science:
- Chronobiology
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Mammalian physiology is governed by an endogenous circadian clock.
- This clock synchronizes bodily functions with environmental cues via central and peripheral mechanisms.
- Modern lifestyles disrupt circadian homeostasis, increasing disease risk, including cancer.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the relationship between circadian clock disruption and cancer development.
- To investigate the role of circadian rhythms in cellular functions critical for tumor suppression.
- To highlight the potential of circadian asynchrony for novel anticancer therapies.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing human and animal model studies on circadian rhythms and cancer.
- Analysis of the molecular mechanisms linking circadian clock function to cellular processes like proliferation, senescence, metabolism, and DNA repair.
- Examination of extracellular signaling pathways involved in circadian regulation.
Main Results:
- Loss of circadian homeostasis in energy balance, immune function, and aging is associated with cancer development.
- The circadian clock regulates key tumor-suppressive cellular functions both locally and systemically.
- Asynchrony between host and tumor cell proliferation/metabolism presents therapeutic opportunities.
Conclusions:
- The mammalian circadian clock system offers a unique model for studying carcinogenesis as a deregulated physiological process.
- Circadian disruption is a significant factor in cancer etiology.
- Exploiting circadian asynchrony holds promise for developing innovative cancer treatments.
Keywords:
AgingCancer immune surveillanceCellular senescenceChronotherapyCircadian clockEnergy homeostasisG1 cell cycle progressionPhase shiftSignal transductionTumor suppressionMore Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:19Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation
The biological clock is involved in many aspects of regulating complex physiology in all animals. It was in 1935 when German zoologists, Hans Kalmus and Erwin Bünning, discovered the existence of circadian rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster. However, the internal molecular mechanisms behind the circadian clock remained a mystery until 1984, when Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young discovered the expression of the Per gene oscillating over a 24-hour cycle. In subsequent years,...
02:19Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation
The biological clock is involved in many aspects of regulating complex physiology in all animals. It was in 1935 when German zoologists, Hans Kalmus and Erwin Bünning, discovered the existence of circadian rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster. However, the internal molecular mechanisms behind the circadian clock remained a mystery until 1984, when Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young discovered the expression of the Per gene oscillating over a 24-hour cycle. In subsequent years,...
02:34Inhibition of Cdk Activity
The orderly progression of the cell cycle depends on the activation of Cdk protein by binding to its cyclin partner. However, the cell cycle must be restricted when undergoing abnormal changes. Most cancers correlate to the deregulated cell cycle, and since Cdks are a central component of the cell cycle, Cdk inhibitors are extensively studied to develop anticancer agents. For instance, cyclin D associates with several Cdks, such as Cdk 4/6, to form an active complex. The cyclin D-Cdk4/6 complex...
02:34Inhibition of CDK Activity
The orderly progression of the cell cycle depends on the activation of Cdk protein by binding to its cyclin partner. However, the cell cycle must be restricted when undergoing abnormal changes. Most cancers correlate to the deregulated cell cycle, and since Cdks are a central component of the cell cycle, Cdk inhibitors are extensively studied to develop anticancer agents. For instance, cyclin D associates with several Cdks, such as Cdk 4/6, to form an active complex. The cyclin D-Cdk4/6 complex...
02:39Positive Regulator Molecules
Mitotic cell division results in daughter cells that exactly resemble the parent cell. However, errors in the DNA replication or distribution of genetic material may lead to genetic mutations that may be passed down to every new cell formed from the resulting abnormal cell. Propagation of such mutant cells is restricted through checkpoint mechanisms present at different stages of the cell cycle. These checkpoints involve regulator molecules that either promote or demote cell cycle events.
02:45Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses
The circadian—or biological—clock is an intrinsic, timekeeping, molecular mechanism that allows plants to coordinate physiological activities over 24-hour cycles called circadian rhythms. Photoperiodism is a collective term for the biological responses of plants to variations in the relative lengths of dark and light periods. The period of light-exposure is called the photoperiod.