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Updated: Jul 12, 2025

In Vitro Bioluminescence Assay to Characterize Circadian Rhythm in Mammary Epithelial Cells
Published on: September 28, 2017
Synaptic BMAL1 phosphorylation controls circadian hippocampal plasticity
Ilaria Barone1, Nicole M Gilette1, Hannah Hawks-Mayer1
1Department of Neurology and F.M. Kirby Center for Neurobiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Abstract:
The time of day strongly influences adaptive behaviors like long-term memory, but the correlating synaptic and molecular mechanisms remain unclear. The circadian clock comprises a canonical transcription-translation feedback loop (TTFL) strictly dependent on the BMAL1 transcription factor. We report that BMAL1 rhythmically localizes to hippocampal synapses in a manner dependent on its phosphorylation at Ser42 [pBMAL1(S42)]. pBMAL1(S42) regulates the autophosphorylation of synaptic CaMKIIα and circadian rhythms of CaMKIIα-dependent molecular interactions and LTP but not global rest/activity behavior. Therefore, our results suggest a model in which repurposing of the clock protein BMAL1 to synapses locally gates the circadian timing of plasticity.
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