Drosophila: An Emergent Model for Delineating Interactions between the Circadian Clock and Drugs of Abuse

Abstract

Endogenous circadian oscillators orchestrate rhythms at the cellular, physiological, and behavioral levels across species to coordinate activity, for example, sleep/wake cycles, metabolism, and learning and memory, with predictable environmental cycles. The 21st century has seen a dramatic rise in the incidence of circadian and sleep disorders with globalization, technological advances, and the use of personal electronics. The circadian clock modulates alcohol- and drug-induced behaviors with circadian misalignment contributing to increased substance use and abuse. Invertebrate models, such as Drosophila melanogaster, have proven invaluable for the identification of genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying highly conserved processes including the circadian clock, drug tolerance, and reward systems. In this review, we highlight the contributions of Drosophila as a model system for understanding the bidirectional interactions between the circadian system and the drugs of abuse, alcohol and cocaine, and illustrate the highly conserved nature of these interactions between Drosophila and mammalian systems. Research in Drosophila provides mechanistic insights into the corresponding behaviors in higher organisms and can be used as a guide for targeted inquiries in mammals.

Novel trends, challenges and new perspectives for enamel repair and regeneration to treat dental defects

“…235 The circadian clock can be disrupted by specific lifestyles and behavioral choices such as shift works, irregular meals and alcohol and drug abuse. 236,237 Several pieces of evidences have led to the hypothesis that enamel development is under circadian control, including the modulation of the development of other mineralized tissues such as bone by the circadian clock, the daily growth patterns (so-called cross-striations) in enamel, and the circadian matrix deposition during the secretory stage and the alternation between smooth-and ruffle-ended ameloblasts which occurs every 8 hours during the maturation stage. 235,238 The clock genes ( period circadian regulator 2 (Per2) and brain and muscle ARNT-like 1 (Bmal1)) were shown to be expressed in synchronized ameloblast-like LS8 cells.…”

Μελέτη των μεταβολών των κιρκαδιανών ρυθμών της θερμοκρασίας και της μελατονίνης σε βαρέως πάσχοντες ασθενείς με σήψη και σηπτικό shock

“…Τις τελευταίες δύο δεκαετίες έχει διαφανεί εντονότερα η επιρροή του κιρκαδιανού ρολογιού στην τάση για κατανάλωση αλκοόλ και εθιστικών ουσιών, όπως το τσιγάρο και παράνομα και μη ναρκωτικά [68]. Η κατάχρηση τέτοιων ουσιών φαίνεται να είναι συχνότερη σε πληθυσμό με διαταραγμένη κιρκαδιανή ρυθμικότητα, που παρουσιάζει δυσκολίες στον ύπνο [69], άτομα που εργάζονται σε βάρδιες [70], συνήθως προχωρημένης ηλικίας [71].…”