Mitochondria are major suppliers of cellular energy through nutrients oxidation. Little is known about the mechanisms that enable mitochondria to cope with changes in nutrient supply and energy demand that naturally occur throughout the day. To address this question, we applied MS-based quantitative proteomics on isolated mitochondria from mice killed throughout the day and identified extensive oscillations in the mitochondrial proteome. Remarkably, the majority of cycling mitochondrial proteins peaked during the early light phase. We found that rate-limiting mitochondrial enzymes that process lipids and carbohydrates accumulate in a diurnal manner and are dependent on the clock proteins PER1/2. In this conjuncture, we uncovered daily oscillations in mitochondrial respiration that peak during different times of the day in response to different nutrients. Notably, the diurnal regulation of mitochondrial respiration was blunted in mice lacking PER1/2 or on a high-fat diet. We propose that PERIOD proteins optimize mitochondrial metabolism to daily changes in energy supply/demand and thereby, serve as a rheostat for mitochondrial nutrient utilization.M itochondria serve as major suppliers of cellular energy through nutrient oxidation. One of the major challenges that mitochondria face is the adaptation to changes in nutrient supply and energy demand. An inability of mitochondria to deal with altered nutrient environment is associated with metabolic diseases, such as diabetes and obesity (1, 2).Mitochondria oxidize carbohydrates and lipids to generate ATP by a process known as oxidative phosphorylation. Pyruvate and fatty acids are transported from the cytoplasm into the mitochondrial matrix, where they are catabolized into acetyl CoA. Pyruvate is converted to acetyl CoA through the action of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC), whereas fatty acids are oxidized through a cycle of reactions that trim two carbons at a time, generating one molecule of acetyl CoA in each cycle [i.e., fatty acid oxidation (FAO)]. The acetyl groups are then fed into the Krebs cycle for additional degradation, and the process culminates with the transfer of acetyl-derived high-energy electrons along the respiratory chain.Mounting evidence suggests that circadian clocks orchestrate our daily physiology and metabolism (3-6). The mammalian circadian timing system consists of a central pacemaker in the brain that is entrained by daily light-dark cycles and synchronizes subsidiary oscillators in virtually all cells of the body, in part by driving rhythmic feeding behavior. The core clock molecular circuitry relies on interlocked transcription-translation feedback loops that generate daily oscillations of gene expression in cultured cells and living animals (7). Many transcriptomes (8-12) and more recently, several proteomics (13-15) and metabolomics studies (16-21) highlighted the pervasive circadian control of metabolism.Rest-activity and feeding-fasting cycles that naturally occur throughout the day impose pronounced changes in nutrient s...

Cells have evolved mechanisms to handle incompatible processes through temporal organization by circadian clocks and by spatial compartmentalization within organelles defined by lipid bilayers. Recent advances in lipidomics have led to identification of plentiful lipid species, yet our knowledge regarding their spatiotemporal organization is lagging behind. In this study, we quantitatively characterized the nuclear and mitochondrial lipidome in mouse liver throughout the day, upon different feeding regimens, and in clock-disrupted mice. Our analyses revealed potential connections between lipid species within and between lipid classes. Remarkably, we uncovered diurnal oscillations in lipid accumulation in the nucleus and mitochondria. These oscillations exhibited opposite phases and readily responded to feeding time. Furthermore, we found that the circadian clock coordinates the phase relation between the organelles. In summary, our study provides temporal and spatial depiction of lipid organization and reveals the presence and coordination of diurnal rhythmicity in intracellular organelles.

The occurrence and sequelae of disorders that lead to hypoxic spells such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) exhibit daily variance. This prompted us to examine the interaction between the hypoxic response and the circadian clock in vivo. We found that the global transcriptional response to acute hypoxia is tissue-specific and time-of-day–dependent. In particular, clock components differentially responded at the transcriptional and posttranscriptional level, and these responses depended on an intact circadian clock. Importantly, exposure to hypoxia phase-shifted clocks in a tissue-dependent manner led to intertissue circadian clock misalignment. This differential response relied on the intrinsic properties of each tissue and could be recapitulated ex vivo. Notably, circadian misalignment was also elicited by intermittent hypoxia, a widely used model for OSA. Given that phase coherence between circadian clocks is considered favorable, we propose that hypoxia leads to circadian misalignment, contributing to the pathophysiology of OSA and potentially other diseases that involve hypoxia.

Daily rhythms in animal physiology are driven by endogenous circadian clocks in part through rest-activity and feeding-fasting cycles. Here, we examined principles that govern daily respiration. We monitored oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide release, as well as tissue oxygenation in freely moving animals to specifically dissect the role of circadian clocks and feeding time on daily respiration. We found that daily rhythms in oxygen and carbon dioxide are clock-controlled and that time-restricted feeding restores their rhythmicity in clock-deficient mice. Remarkably, day-time feeding dissociated oxygen rhythms from carbon dioxide oscillations, whereby oxygen followed activity and carbon dioxide was shifted and aligned with food intake. In addition, changes in carbon dioxide levels altered clock gene expression and phase-shifted the clock. Collectively, our findings indicate that oxygen and carbon dioxide rhythms are clock-controlled and feeding-regulated, and support a potential role for carbon dioxide in phase resetting of peripheral clocks upon feeding.

The mammalian circadian system consists of a central clock in the brain that synchronizes clocks in peripheral tissues. While the hierarchy between the central and peripheral clocks is established, little is known regarding the specificity and functional organization of peripheral clocks. Here, we employ altered feeding paradigms in conjunction with liver-clock mutant mice to map disparities and interactions between peripheral rhythms. We find that peripheral clocks largely differ in their responses to feeding-time. Disruption of the liver-clock, despite its prominent role in nutrient processing, does not affect rhythmicity of clocks in other peripheral tissues. Yet, unexpectedly, liver-clock disruption strongly modulates peripheral tissues’ transcriptional rhythmicity, primarily upon daytime feeding. Concomitantly, liver-clock mutant mice exhibit impaired glucose and lipid homeostasis, which are aggravated by daytime feeding. Overall, our findings suggest that, upon nutrient challenge, the liver-clock buffers the effect of feeding-related signals on rhythmicity of peripheral tissues, irrespective of their clocks.

Circadian clocks orchestrate the daily changes in physiology and behavior of light-sensitive organisms. These clocks measure about 24 h and tick in a self-sustained and cell-autonomous manner. Mounting evidence points toward a tight intertwining between circadian clocks and metabolism. Although various aspects of circadian control of metabolic functions have been extensively studied, our knowledge regarding circadian mitochondrial function is rudimentary. In this review, we will survey the current literature related to the circadian nature of mitochondrial biology: from mitochondrial omics studies (e.g., proteome, acetylome, and lipidome), through dissection of mitochondrial morphology, to analyses of mitochondrial processes such as nutrient utilization and respiration. We will describe potential mechanisms that are implicated in circadian regulation of mitochondrial functions in mammals and discuss the possibility of a mitochondrial-autonomous oscillator.

The tumor suppressor p53 limits tumorigenesis by inducing apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and senescence. Although p53 is known to limit inflammation during tumor development, its role in regulating chronic lung inflammation is less well understood. To elucidate the function of airway epithelial p53 in such inflammation, we subjected genetically modified mice, whose bronchial epithelial club cells lack p53, to repetitive inhalations of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an exposure that leads to severe chronic bronchitis and airway senescence in wild-type mice. Surprisingly, the club cell p53 knockout mice exhibited reduced airway senescence and bronchitis in response to chronic LPS exposure and were significantly protected from global lung destruction. Furthermore, pharmacological elimination of senescent cells also protected wild-type mice from chronic LPS-induced bronchitis. Our results implicate p53 in induction of club-cell senescence and correlate epithelial cell senescence of chronic airway inflammation and lung destruction.

Exercise and circadian biology are closely intertwined with physiology and metabolism, yet the functional interaction between circadian clocks and exercise capacity is only partially characterized. Here, we tested different clock mutant mouse models to examine the effect of the circadian clock and clock proteins, namely PERIODs and BMAL1, on exercise capacity. We found that daytime variance in endurance exercise capacity is circadian clock controlled. Unlike wild-type mice, which outperform in the late compared with the early part of their active phase, PERIODs- and BMAL1-null mice do not show daytime variance in exercise capacity. It appears that BMAL1 impairs and PERIODs enhance exercise capacity in a daytime-dependent manner. An analysis of liver and muscle glycogen stores as well as muscle lipid utilization suggested that these daytime effects mostly relate to liver glycogen levels and correspond to the animals’ feeding behavior. Furthermore, given that exercise capacity responds to training, we tested the effect of training at different times of the day and found that training in the late compared with the early part of the active phase improves exercise performance. Overall, our findings suggest that clock proteins shape exercise capacity in a daytime-dependent manner through changes in liver glycogen levels, likely due to their effect on animals’ feeding behavior.