Development of Mammalian Circadian Rhythms

Davis, Fred C.; Reppert, Steven M.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-1201-1_10

Cited by 23 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 192 publications

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“…To summarize, these series of experiments demonstrate that the fetal SCN has endogenous oscillatory properties, and is entrained by a signal controlled by the maternal SCN. A second finding is that the phase of postnatal behavioral rhythms in rats and hamsters is set by signals experienced during gestation (reviewed by Davis and Reppert, 2001). The underlying concept was of a fetal circadian system organized with the fetal SCN as master clock entrained by a nonphotic signal derived from the mother.…”

Section: The Circadian System and Circadian Clocks Throughout Developmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…In contrast, in altricial species (pups are very immature at birth), like rats and hamsters, overt circadian rhythms of temperature, behavioral rhythms like locomotor activity, drinking, and the plasma corticosterone rhythm develop postnatally. In these species, SCN neurogenesis is completed close to birth and innervation by RTH is completed postnatally (reviewed by Davis and Reppert, 2001); notwithstanding, the fetal SCN presents day/night rhythms in metabolic activity (Reppert and Schwartz, 1983;Davis and Gorski, 1985), an abundance of messenger RNA (mRNA) for vasopressin (Reppert and Uhl, 1987), and of spontaneous neural activity (recorded in slice preparations; Shibata and Moore, 1987). Altogether, these evidences demonstrate oscillatory function of the fetal SCN in altricial and precocial species and the presence of overt circadian rhythms during fetal life in the latter.…”

Section: The Circadian System and Circadian Clocks Throughout Developmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Circadian rhythms of fetal heart rate, respiratory movements, fetal movements, and hormones are detected in the human and in other species. Since it is known that the fetal SCN oscillates in utero (reviewed in Seron-Ferre et al, 1993;Davis and Reppert, 2001;Weinert, 2005), several questions arise from the new findings in circadian physiology. Does the conceptus have an operating circadian system similar to that of the adult?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Circadian clocks during embryonic and fetal development

Serón-Ferré

Valenzuela

Torres-Farfán

2007

Birth Defects Research Pt C

101

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Circadian rhythmicity is a fundamental characteristic of organisms, which helps ensure that vital functions occur in an appropriate and precise temporal sequence and in accordance with cyclic environmental changes. Living beings are endowed with a system of biological clocks that measure time on a 24-hr basis, termed the circadian timing system. In mammals, the system is organized as a master clock located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus, commanding peripheral clocks located in almost every tissue of the body. At the cell level, interlocking transcription/translation feedback loops of the genes Bmal-1, Clock, Per1-2, and Cry1-2, named clock genes, and their protein products results in circadian oscillation of clock genes and of genes involved in almost every cellular function. During gestation, the conceptus follows a complex and dynamic program by which it is simultaneously fit to develop and live in a circadian environment provided by its mother and to prepare for the very different environment that it will experience after birth. It has been known for a number of years that the mother tells the fetus the time of day and season of the year, and that the fetus uses this information to set the phase of fetal and neonatal circadian rhythms. There is evidence that the maternal rhythm of melatonin is one of the time signals to the fetus. In the last few years, the study of the development of the circadian system has turned to the investigation of the oscillatory expression of clock genes and their possible role in development, and to answering questions on the organization of the fetal circadian system. Emerging evidence shows that clock genes are expressed in the oocyte and during early and late development in embryo/fetal organs in the rat and in a fetal primate. The data available raise the intriguing possibility that the fetal SCN and fetal tissues may be peripheral clocks commanded by separate maternal signals. The rapid methodological and conceptual advances on chronobiology may help to unravel how the developing embryo and fetus faces time in this plastic period of life.

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Section: The Circadian System and Circadian Clocks Throughout Developmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: The Circadian System and Circadian Clocks Throughout Developmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Circadian clocks during embryonic and fetal development

Serón-Ferré

Valenzuela

Torres-Farfán

2007

Birth Defects Research Pt C

101

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“…In the rat and hamster, in which several circadian rhythms (locomotor activity and drinking behavior) and the rhythm of plasma corticosterone are detected 2 wk after birth, it is well established that the phase of these rhythms and the synchronization between litters of the same dam is set by the maternal circadian system during gestation (11)(12)(13)(14). Maternal melatonin may exert such chronobiotic action as shown in the rat (15), given that the fetal pineal gland does not produce melatonin (16),butmaternalmelatonin,whichcrosses the placenta without being altered (17), exposes the fetus to a circadian rhythm of melatonin (18).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Circadian Clock Entrained by Melatonin Is Ticking in the Rat Fetal Adrenal

et al. 2011

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The adrenal gland in the adult is a peripheral circadian clock involved in the coordination of energy intake and expenditure, required for adaptation to the external environment. During fetal life, a peripheral circadian clock is present in the nonhuman primate adrenal gland. Whether this extends to the fetal adrenal gland like the rat is unknown. Here we explored in vivo and in vitro whether the rat fetal adrenal is a peripheral circadian clock entrained by melatonin. We measured the 24-h changes in adrenal content of corticosterone and in the expression of clock genes Per-2 and Bmal-1 and of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), Mt1 melatonin receptor, and early growth response protein 1 (Egr-1) expression. In culture, we explored whether oscillatory expression of these genes persisted during 48 h and the effect of a 4-h melatonin pulse on their expression. In vivo, the rat fetal adrenal gland showed circadian expression of Bmal-1 and Per-2 in antiphase (acrophases at 2200 and 1300 h, respectively) as well as of Mt1 and Egr-1. This was accompanied by circadian rhythms of corticosterone content and of StAR expression both peaking at 0600 h. The 24-h oscillatory expression of Bmal-1, Per-2, StAR, Mt1, and Egr-1 persisted during 48 h in culture; however, the antiphase between Per-2 and Bmal-1 was lost. The pulse of melatonin shifted the acrophases of all the genes studied and restored the antiphase between Per-2 and Bmal-1. Thus, in the rat, the fetal adrenal is a strong peripheral clock potentially amenable to regulation by maternal melatonin.

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“…Nevertheless, it is increasingly clear that to fully understand circadian function, and particularly in complex natural contexts, nonphotic input must also be considered (Hastings et al, 1997;Challet et al, 2003;Caldelas et al, 2005a). Although biologically relevant nonphotic stimuli are typically more difficult to identify, define and to administer than photic cues, a promising approach used increasingly in mammalian research is to study the develop-ment of circadian systems in previsual altricial young (Reppert, 1989;Escobar et al, 2000;Davis and Reppert, 2001;Jilge and Hudson, 2001;Shimomura et al, 2001;Ohta et al, 2002Ohta et al, , 2003Sládek et al, 2004;Caldelas et al, 2005aCaldelas et al, , 2007Kováîcikova et al, 2005Kováîcikova et al, , 2006Caba et al, 2008;reviewed in Caldelas et al, in press).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Endogenous clock gene expression in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of previsual newborn rabbits is entrained by nursing

Caldelas

González

Montúfar-Chaveznava

et al. 2008

Developmental Neurobiology

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ABSTRACT:The rabbit is particularly suitable for investigating the development of mammalian circadian function. Blind at birth, the pups are only visited by the mother to be nursed once every 24 h for about 3 min and so can be studied largely without maternal interference. They anticipate the mother's visit with increased behavioral arousal and with a rise in body temperature, both of which represent endogenous circadian rhythms. We now report that in newborn pups the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus (SCN; the main circadian pacemaker in mammals) show endogenous 24-h rhythmicity in the expression of the clock genes Per1, Per2, and Bmal1. Pups nursed from postnatal days 1 to 7 and fasted to day 9 showed the same rhythms of clock gene expression as normally nursed controls. We also report that these rhythms are entrained by nursing.Pups killed on postnatal days 3-4 showed the same rhythms in gene expression as pups in the previous experiment, whereas littermates subsequently nursed from postnatal days 4 to 7 with nursing delayed 6 h showed a corresponding shift in the diurnal pattern of clock gene expression. Consistent with this, two groups of pups implanted with telemetric thermal sensors and nursed 6 h apart had daily patterns in body temperature synchronized with the two different nursing times. We conclude that the expression of clock genes associated with the newborn rabbit's circadian system is entrained by nonphotic cues accompanying nursing, the exact nature of which now needs to be clarified. '

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Development of Mammalian Circadian Rhythms

Cited by 23 publications

References 192 publications

Circadian clocks during embryonic and fetal development

Circadian clocks during embryonic and fetal development

A Circadian Clock Entrained by Melatonin Is Ticking in the Rat Fetal Adrenal

Endogenous clock gene expression in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of previsual newborn rabbits is entrained by nursing

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