Circle(s) of Life: The Circadian Clock from Birth to Death

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The circadian clock is a prominent regulator of physiology. Most studies so far have investigated its role in health and disease in adult subjects and animals. However, circadian clock characteristics change over one’s lifetime. This review describes how the clock develops during pregnancy and infancy, how it evolves in childhood and adolescence and, finally, how its function is impacted by aging, with a special focus on the female reproductive system. Understanding those changes can contribute to adapting behavioral and medical interventions to the patients’ age and sex-specific needs. ABSTRACT: Most lifeforms on earth use endogenous, so-called circadian clocks to adapt to 24-h cycles in environmental demands driven by the planet’s rotation around its axis. Interactions with the environment change over the course of a lifetime, and so does regulation of the circadian clock system. In this review, we summarize how circadian clocks develop in humans and experimental rodents during embryonic development, how they mature after birth and what changes occur during puberty, adolescence and with increasing age. Special emphasis is laid on the circadian regulation of reproductive systems as major organizers of life segments and life span. We discuss differences in sexes and outline potential areas for future research. Finally, potential options for medical applications of lifespan chronobiology are discussed.