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Mechanisms of Communication in the Mammalian Circadian Timing System

24-h rhythms in physiology and behaviour are organized by a body-wide network of endogenous circadian clocks. In mammals, a central pacemaker in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) integrates external light information to adapt cellular clocks in all tissues and organs to the external lig...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Astiz, Mariana, Heyde, Isabel, Oster, Henrik
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6359556/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30650649
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms20020343
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author Astiz, Mariana
Heyde, Isabel
Oster, Henrik
author_facet Astiz, Mariana
Heyde, Isabel
Oster, Henrik
author_sort Astiz, Mariana
collection PubMed
description 24-h rhythms in physiology and behaviour are organized by a body-wide network of endogenous circadian clocks. In mammals, a central pacemaker in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) integrates external light information to adapt cellular clocks in all tissues and organs to the external light-dark cycle. Together, central and peripheral clocks co-regulate physiological rhythms and functions. In this review, we outline the current knowledge about the routes of communication between the environment, the main pacemakers and the downstream clocks in the body, focusing on what we currently know and what we still need to understand about the communication mechanisms by which centrally and peripherally controlled timing signals coordinate physiological functions and behaviour. We highlight recent findings that shed new light on the internal organization and function of the SCN and neuroendocrine mechanisms mediating clock-to-clock coupling. These findings have implications for our understanding of circadian network entrainment and for potential manipulations of the circadian clock system in therapeutic settings.
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spelling pubmed-63595562019-02-06 Mechanisms of Communication in the Mammalian Circadian Timing System Astiz, Mariana Heyde, Isabel Oster, Henrik Int J Mol Sci Review 24-h rhythms in physiology and behaviour are organized by a body-wide network of endogenous circadian clocks. In mammals, a central pacemaker in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) integrates external light information to adapt cellular clocks in all tissues and organs to the external light-dark cycle. Together, central and peripheral clocks co-regulate physiological rhythms and functions. In this review, we outline the current knowledge about the routes of communication between the environment, the main pacemakers and the downstream clocks in the body, focusing on what we currently know and what we still need to understand about the communication mechanisms by which centrally and peripherally controlled timing signals coordinate physiological functions and behaviour. We highlight recent findings that shed new light on the internal organization and function of the SCN and neuroendocrine mechanisms mediating clock-to-clock coupling. These findings have implications for our understanding of circadian network entrainment and for potential manipulations of the circadian clock system in therapeutic settings. MDPI 2019-01-15 /pmc/articles/PMC6359556/ /pubmed/30650649 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms20020343 Text en © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Astiz, Mariana
Heyde, Isabel
Oster, Henrik
Mechanisms of Communication in the Mammalian Circadian Timing System
title Mechanisms of Communication in the Mammalian Circadian Timing System
title_full Mechanisms of Communication in the Mammalian Circadian Timing System
title_fullStr Mechanisms of Communication in the Mammalian Circadian Timing System
title_full_unstemmed Mechanisms of Communication in the Mammalian Circadian Timing System
title_short Mechanisms of Communication in the Mammalian Circadian Timing System
title_sort mechanisms of communication in the mammalian circadian timing system
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6359556/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30650649
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms20020343
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