Central and Peripheral Signals Set the Circadian Liver Clock

Liza Gross

doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050050

Abstract

Central and Peripheral Signals Set the Circadian Liver Clock

Highlights

The importance of maintaining a smooth-running circadian clock becomes painfully evident whenever we suffer severe jet lag
We perceive light cues through retinal photoreceptors that relay the signals to a cluster of some 16,000 neurons in the hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
Of particular interest is whether cyclically expressed genes in peripheral tissues are controlled by local circadian clocks or by systemic cues that are directly or indirectly controlled by the SCN pacemaker

Summary

Introduction

The importance of maintaining a smooth-running circadian clock becomes painfully evident whenever we suffer severe jet lag. Of particular interest is whether cyclically expressed genes in peripheral tissues are controlled by local circadian clocks or by systemic cues that are directly or indirectly controlled by the SCN pacemaker. To tell whether genes were under local or systemic control, they needed to shut down the local circadian oscillators (the molecular mechanisms responsible for cyclical gene expression) in the liver.

Results

Conclusion