Research shows long noncoding RNAs regulate circadian clocks -
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found a new way that the internal clocks of the body are controlled by a type of molecule known as the long non-coding RNA.
internal clocks of the body, called circadian clocks regulate the "rhythms" many daily bodily functions, the waking and sleep at body temperature and hunger. They are largely "tuned" to a 24 hour cycle which is influenced by external signals such as light and temperature.
"Although we know that long noncoding RNAs are abundant in many organizations, what they do in the body, and how they do it, has not been clear until now" , said Dr. Yi Liu, professor of physiology. "Our work establishes a role for long non-coding RNAs in" tuning "the circadian clock but also shows how they control the expression of genes."
how circadian clocks work is essential to the understanding of several human diseases, including sleep disorders and depression in which the malfunctioning of the clock. the influence of a functional clock is evident in the reduction of the performance of shift workers and jet lag felt by long-distance travelers.
Dr. Liu and his team were able to learn more about circadian rhythms by studying model systems involving loaf, Neurospora crassa. the researchers found that the expression of a gene called clock Frequency ( frq ) is controlled by a long noncoding RNAs named QRF ( FRQ back). - An RNA molecule that is complementary or anti-sense, to FRQ unlike normal RNA molecules, QRF does not encode a protein, but it can not and check whether the amount of protein produced FRQ.
more specifically, QRF RNA is produced in response to light, and can then interfere with the production of the FRQ protein. This way QRF can "re-set" the circadian clock in a manner dependent on the light. This regulation works in both directions: frq can also block the production of QRF . This ensures that the mutual inhibition FRQ and QRF The RNA molecules are present in "phases" opposite the clock and allows each RNA oscillate strongly. Without QRF , normal circadian rhythms are not supported, indicating that long noncoding RNAs is necessary for clock functions.
The results are published online in the journal Nature.
"We expect a similar mode of action can work in other organizations because similar RNAs were found for clock genes in mice. Furthermore, these RNAs may also work in other biological processes because of their wide presence in genomes, "said Dr. Liu, who is Louise W. Kahn Scholar in biomedical research.
UT Southwestern researchers are leaders in unravel the networks of genes underlying circadian clocks and found that most of the body organs such as the pancreas and liver, have their own internal clocks, and virtually every cell in the human body contains a clock. It now it seems that clocks and related genes horloge-- about 20 such genes have been identified. - Affects almost all metabolic pathways of cells, regulating blood sugar cholesterol production
UT Southwestern researchers involved in the latest results include Dr. Zhihong Xue Ye Qiaohong Dr Juchen Yang and Dr. Guanghua Xiao. Support for this research included grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Welch Foundation, the Institute for Cancer Prevention Texas, and Biotechnology and Research Council in biological sciences.
"This study adds to a large body of work has demonstrated the omnipresence of a circadian clock across species, including humans, and its role in the regulation of metabolism in the cells, bodies and organizations, "said Dr. Michael Sesma, program director in the Division of genetics and developmental biology at the National Institutes of health National Institute of General medical sciences, which partially funded the research. "These new findings of Dr. Liu and colleagues also extend beyond the understanding of the function of an antisense RNA in the late daily rhythm setting of a cell, they provide an example of the ways in which anti- meaning regulates transcription probably another key molecular and physiological processes in cells and organisms ".
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