Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 25, 2026

Monitoring Cell-autonomous Circadian Clock Rhythms of Gene Expression Using Luciferase Bioluminescence Reporters
10:38

Monitoring Cell-autonomous Circadian Clock Rhythms of Gene Expression Using Luciferase Bioluminescence Reporters

Published on: September 27, 2012

23.2K

Circadian repressors CRY1 and CRY2 broadly interact with nuclear receptors and modulate transcriptional activity

Anna Kriebs1, Sabine D Jordan1, Erin Soto1

  • 1Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|July 29, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Cryptochromes (CRY1/2) act as corepressors for nuclear hormone receptors (NRs). This reveals a new mechanism for circadian clock control over NR-regulated metabolism and drug metabolism.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular biology
  • Chronobiology
  • Endocrinology

Background:

  • Nuclear hormone receptors (NRs) are key regulators of physiological processes through ligand-dependent transcription.
  • Circadian clocks, driven by core clock factors like CLOCK, BMAL1, CRY, and PER, influence mammalian transcription.
  • Cryptochromes (CRY1 and CRY2) bind to numerous genomic sites, many containing NR recognition motifs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of CRY1/2 in the regulation of nuclear hormone receptor (NR) activity.
  • To elucidate the interplay between circadian clock components and NRs in controlling cellular transcription and physiology.

Main Methods:

  • The study likely involved molecular biology techniques to assess the interaction between CRY1/2 and NRs.
  • Genomic analyses to identify binding sites of CRY1/2 and their overlap with NR recognition motifs.
  • Functional assays to evaluate the impact of CRY1/2 on NR-mediated transcriptional activity.

Main Results:

  • CRY1 and CRY2 function as corepressors for a wide range of NRs.
  • CRY1/2 binding sites are frequently enriched with NR recognition motifs.
  • This interaction provides a novel link between circadian rhythms and NR signaling.

Conclusions:

  • Cryptochromes (CRY1/2) represent a new class of coregulators for nuclear hormone receptors (NRs).
  • This finding establishes a direct mechanism for circadian clock control over NR-mediated physiological processes, including metabolism.
  • The study highlights the role of CRY1/2 in the diurnal regulation of drug metabolism.
Keywords:
circadiancorepressorcryptochromenuclear hormone receptorxenobiotic metabolism

More Related Videos

Rapid Analysis of Circadian Phenotypes in Arabidopsis Protoplasts Transfected with a Luminescent Clock Reporter07:42

Rapid Analysis of Circadian Phenotypes in Arabidopsis Protoplasts Transfected with a Luminescent Clock Reporter

Published on: September 17, 2016

13.4K
Light-mediated Reversible Modulation of the Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Pathway during Cell Differentiation and Xenopus Embryonic Development09:32

Light-mediated Reversible Modulation of the Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Pathway during Cell Differentiation and Xenopus Embryonic Development

Published on: June 15, 2017

9.3K

Related Concept Videos

Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation02:19

Circadian 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...
4.6K
Co-activators and Co-repressors02:04

Co-activators and Co-repressors

Gene transcription is regulated by the synergistic action of several proteins that form a complex at a gene regulatory site. This is observed in eukaryotes, where the regulation of gene expression is a complex process. Regulatory proteins in eukaryotes can broadly be classified into two types – regulators that bind directly to specific DNA sequences and co-regulators that associate with regulatory proteins but cannot directly bind to the DNA. These co-regulators are further divided into...
8.7K
Co-activators and Co-repressors02:04

Co-activators and Co-repressors

3.1K
Transducer Mechanism: Nuclear Receptors01:31

Transducer Mechanism: Nuclear Receptors

Nuclear receptors, or NRs, are unique transcription factors that regulate gene transcription and affect the cellular pathways involved in reproduction, development, or metabolism. Their ability to be stimulated by small lipophilic ligands and control vital cellular processes makes them ideal drug targets. Nearly 10-15% of currently prescribed drugs target these receptors.
About 48 different soluble family members of nuclear receptors are identified that can be divided into two main classes:
3.5K
RNA Polymerase II Accessory Proteins02:36

RNA Polymerase II Accessory Proteins

Proteins that regulate transcription can do so either via direct contact with RNA Polymerase or through indirect interactions facilitated by adaptors, mediators, histone-modifying proteins, and nucleosome remodelers. Direct interactions to activate transcription is seen in bacteria as well as in some eukaryotic genes. In these cases, upstream activation sequences are adjacent to the promoters, and the activator proteins interact directly with the transcriptional machinery. For example, in...
11.2K
Eukaryotic Transcription Inhibitors01:52

Eukaryotic Transcription Inhibitors

Certain biochemical processes, such as embryonic development and cell growth regulation, depend on the repression of specific genes. DNA binding proteins known as eukaryotic transcription inhibitors regulate the repression of gene expression in eukaryotes. The presence of these inhibitors at the required location and time in the cell is triggered by the presence of hormones and additional signals from other cells.
Eukaryotic transcription inhibitors usually contain two distinct domains, a...
11.1K