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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
The Use of Mouse Splenocytes to Assess Pathogen-associated Molecular Pattern Influence on Clock Gene Expression
Published on: July 24, 2018
Nocturnal Dim Blue Light Is Associated with Splenic Immune Dysregulation and Altered CORT-GR Signalling in
Huairuo Shi1, Qingyun Guan1, Zixu Wang1
1State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health and Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Haidian, Beijing 100193, China.
Abstract:
Artificial light at night (ALAN) has emerged as a pervasive environmental stressor that disrupts immune homeostasis. This study examined the association between nocturnal dim blue light (dBL) exposure and splenic immune alterations, with particular attention to the corticosterone-glucocorticoid receptor, or CORT-GR, signalling pathway in a high-fat diet-fed mouse model. Male C57BL/6 mice were exposed to dBL (~5 lx) during the dark phase for 12 weeks while maintained on a high-fat diet (HFD). Chronic dBL exposure was associated with splenic atrophy, impaired splenocyte proliferative responses, elevated circulating CORT, and increased splenic GR expression. dBL exposure also coincided with increased NF-κB activation, reduced Nrf2/HO-1 signalling, oxidative stress, and cytokine imbalance in the spleen. Furthermore, in an independent pharmacological cohort, inhibition of CORT synthesis or GR signalling partially attenuated these alterations. Together, these findings suggest that, within an HFD-fed mouse model, dBL exposure is associated with splenic redox-inflammatory imbalance and impaired proliferative responses, a process to which dysregulated CORT-GR signalling appears to contribute.
