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Published on: August 8, 2019
Circadian clock and the onset of cardiovascular events
Norihiko Takeda1, Koji Maemura2
1Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Insights
Cardiovascular disease events, like heart attacks, often occur in the early morning due to daily rhythms in body functions. Understanding the body
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular physiology
- Chronobiology
- Molecular biology
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases exhibit significant diurnal variations, with events like myocardial infarction and ventricular arrhythmias peaking in the early morning.
- Circadian rhythms influence numerous physiological parameters, including blood pressure, autonomic nervous system activity, renin-angiotensin axis, coagulation, vascular tone, and cardiomyocyte metabolism, potentially explaining these diurnal patterns.
- The molecular clock system, present centrally in the suprachiasmatic nucleus and peripherally in individual cells, is implicated in regulating these circadian variations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for the diurnal oscillation of cardiovascular events.
- To investigate the role of the biological clock system in maintaining cardiovascular homeostasis.
- To identify potential therapeutic targets for managing cardiovascular disorders by understanding circadian influences.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on circadian rhythms and cardiovascular diseases.
- Analysis of physiological and biochemical parameters exhibiting circadian variation.
- Investigation of the central and peripheral molecular clock systems and their relation to cardiovascular function.
Main Results:
- Circadian rhythms in blood pressure, autonomic activity, hormonal axes, coagulation, vascular tone, and cardiomyocyte metabolism are linked to the diurnal pattern of cardiovascular events.
- The molecular clock system appears to be a fundamental driver of these circadian variations.
- Disruption or discoordination of peripheral clocks with the external environment may contribute to cardiovascular event development.
Conclusions:
- The biological clock system plays a crucial role in maintaining cardiovascular homeostasis.
- Discoordination between peripheral clocks and environmental cues is a potential risk factor for cardiovascular events.
- Understanding the diurnal patterns and molecular pathways of cardiovascular events can lead to novel chronotherapeutic strategies.
Abstract:
The onset of cardiovascular diseases often shows time-of-day variation. Acute myocardial infarction or ventricular arrhythmia such as ventricular tachycardia occurs mainly in the early morning. Multiple biochemical and physiological parameters show circadian rhythm, which may account for the diurnal variation of cardiovascular events. These include the variations in blood pressure, activity of the autonomic nervous system and renin-angiotensin axis, coagulation cascade, vascular tone and the intracellular metabolism of cardiomyocytes. Importantly, the molecular clock system seems to underlie the circadian variation of these parameters. The center of the biological clock, also known as the central clock, exists in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. In contrast, the molecular clock system is also activated in each cell of the peripheral organs and constitute the peripheral clock. The biological clock system is currently considered to have a beneficial role in maintaining the homeostasis of each organ. Discoordination, however, between the peripheral clock and external environment could potentially underlie the development of cardiovascular events. Therefore, understanding the molecular and cellular pathways by which cardiovascular events occur in a diurnal oscillatory pattern will help the establishment of a novel therapeutic approach to the management of cardiovascular disorders.
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