Phosphorylation of LSD1 by PKCα is crucial for circadian rhythmicity and phase resetting

The circadian clock is a self-sustaining oscillator that controls daily rhythms. For the proper circadian gene expression, dynamic changes in chromatin structure are important. Although chromatin modifiers have been shown to play a role in circadian gene expression, the in vivo role of circadian signal-modulated chromatin modifiers at an organism level remains to be elucidated. Here, we provide evidence that the lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) is phosphorylated by protein kinase Cα (PKCα) in a circadian manner and the phosphorylated LSD1 forms a complex with CLOCK:BMAL1 to facilitate E-box-mediated transcriptional activation. Knockin mice bearing phosphorylation-defective Lsd1(SA/SA) alleles exhibited altered circadian rhythms in locomotor behavior with attenuation of rhythmic expression of core clock genes and impaired phase resetting of circadian clock. These data demonstrate that LSD1 is a key component of the molecular circadian oscillator, which plays a pivotal role in rhythmicity and phase resetting of the circadian clock.