Abstract
The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) functions as the central circadian pacemaker in mammals and entrains to the environmental light/dark cycle. It is composed of multiple types of GABAergic neurons, and interneuronal communications among these neurons are essential for the circadian pacemaking of the SCN. However, the mechanisms underlying the SCN neuronal network remain unknown. This review will provide a brief overview of the current knowledge concerning the differential roles of multiple neuropeptides and neuropeptide-expressing neurons in the SCN, especially focusing on the emerging roles of arginine vasopressin-producing neurons uncovered by recent studies utilizing neuron type-specific genetic manipulations in mice.
Highlights
The circadian oscillator of the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is the central pacemaker in mammals, orchestrating multiple circadian biological rhythms in the organism and being regulated according to the external light/dark conditions conveyed from the eye (Reppert and Weaver, 2002)
Bmal1-based cellular clocks of arginine vasopressin (AVP) neurons are likely to enhance the coupling of the SCN cells to generate robust circadian rhythms by regulating expression of multiple factors involved in interneuronal communications (Mieda et al, 2015)
By artificially manipulating the period of cellular clocks in AVP neurons, the possibility that AVP neurons actively work as pacemaker cells to determine the period of circadian rhythm generated by the SCN network was examined (Mieda et al, 2016)
Summary
The circadian oscillator of the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is the central pacemaker in mammals, orchestrating multiple circadian biological rhythms in the organism and being regulated according to the external light/dark conditions conveyed from the eye (Reppert and Weaver, 2002). Bmal1-based cellular clocks of AVP neurons are likely to enhance the coupling of the SCN cells to generate robust circadian rhythms by regulating expression of multiple factors involved in interneuronal communications (Mieda et al, 2015).
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