Title: Regulation of Clock Genes in Mammals from Central to Peripheral Pacemakers
Volume: 5
Issue: 6
Author(s): X. L-Li and Q. P-Li
Affiliation:
Keywords:
clock genes, circadianosuprachiasmatic nuclei
Abstract: All creatures living in the earth have an indispensable instinct to anticipate and respond to time. Actually this is not due to the environment outside. The main pacemaker is supposed to be located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), which can generate a free-running rhythm independent of environmental cues. Besides, most peripheral tissues also possess their own oscillators. The SCN coordinates peripheral clocks to synchronize with the real time. Since the investigation of circadian rhythm entered the “gene” era, many substantial findings have been made in each aspect of this subject, to name a few, the relationship between the SCN and peripheral oscillators, new insight in peripheral clocks. Here our goal is to describe and illustrate the general concept about mammalian circadian clocks from the discovery of clock genes to the latest findings of them. We are endeavoring to make a recapitulation of the crucial findings in this field including the definition of clock genesoregulation of clock genes in central and peripheral pacemakers and the relationship between them. True understanding of the mechanism of circadian rhythms will absolutely usher us into a new field in applying it in the treatment of some diseases related to the circadian rhythm.
