Morning clock gene expression in young adults of early and late chronotypes

Variations in circadian rhythm-related genes influence the individual chronotype. Here, we hypothesize that the peak of clock gene expression at 7 a.m. differs between young adults with a late chronotype and young adults with an early chronotype. Participants of the Chronotype and Nutrition nutritional trial (ChroNu study) were selected for their chronotype assessed by the Munich Chronotype questionnaire (MCTQ) and actigraphy. Total RNA was isolated from CD14⁺ monocytes of participants at 7 a.m. on the run-in day. Expression levels of seven clock genes (PER1, PER2, PER3, NR1D1, NR1D2, CRY1 and CRISPLD2) of individuals with early (n = 11) or late chronotypes (n = 19) were analysed by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Difference in expression levels was tested by Mann Whitney-U test. The relative expression levels of the selected genes were not significantly different between individuals with early and late chronotypes (all p > 0.07). Contrary to expectation, clock gene expression levels at 7 a.m. was similar in individuals with early and late chronotypes. Further studies on larger sample sizes with multiple sampling time points should elucidate whether gene expression is altered at other day times underscoring the biological difference between individuals with early or late chronotypes.