Effects of calcium ions on glucose utilization in the rat suprachiasmatic nucleus in vitro

The role of calcium ions in maintenance of the circadian rhythm in glucose utilization in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus was investigated in vitro in a rat hypothalamic slice preparation using the 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) method. In normal Krebs solution, 2-DG uptake of adult and embryonic day 22 rat SCN was higher in subjective day than in subjective night. In calcium-free Krebs solution, however, 2-DG uptake of adult and embryonic SCN was low in both subjective day and night periods. These results indicate that the SCN rhythm in metabolic activity is dependent on calcium ions in both adult and embryonic rats. Since immunohistochemical and ultrastructural analysis of synapse formation has shown very few synapses in the SCN of embryonic day 22 rats, it is suggested that the development and maintenance of the circadian rhythm in metabolism demonstrated by the 2-DG method depends on intracellular calcium-mediated events rather than synaptic transmission.