Molecular disseciton of the mammalian circadian clock: tissue-specific regulation of the Bmal1 and Bmal2 genes

生理的许多方面呈现出24小时(或昼夜节律)的节奏：睡眠-醒来周期、进食、激素、体温……这些昼夜节律使生物体能够充分适应环境的周期性变化(昼夜循环、季节变化)。昼夜节律是由“生物钟”产生的，生物钟位于大脑和其他各种器官中。近年来，人们发现了许多所谓的“时钟基因”，这些基因构成了生物钟的齿轮。事实上，这些基因的突变导致了啮齿动物和人类的异常节律。我们的工作旨在发现时钟基因如何相互作用来产生公开的生理节奏。我们还想了解生物钟系统中的各种时钟是如何组织和相互交流的。由于生物钟中存在着大量的节律生理现象，因此对生物钟的研究是必不可少的。生物钟的故障可能会导致睡眠和情绪紊乱，以及癌症、肥胖症和许多其他健康问题。此外，对发条系统的更好理解最终可以帮助倒班工人适应倒班或改变的时间表。

Numerous aspects of the physiology present 24-hour (or circadian) rhythms: sleep-wake cycles, feeding, hormones, body temperature... These circadian rhythms allow the organism to be adequately adapted to cyclic variations of the environment (Day-night cycles, seasons). Circadian rhythms are generated by "biological clocks", which are located in the brain as well as in various other organs. In recent years, many so-called "clock genes" have been discovered; these genes constitute the cogwheels of the biological clocks. Indeed, mutation of these genes lead to abnormal rhythms, both in rodents and in humans. Our work aims at discovering how clock genes interact with each other to generate overt physiological rhythms. We also want to understand how the various clocks of the circadian system organize and communicate among themselves. The research on circadian clocks is essential, given the large number of rhythmic physiological phenomena. A malfunction of the clock can lead to sleep and mood disorders, as well as cancer, obesity and probably many other health problems. Moreover, a better understanding of the clockworks could in the end help shiftworkers to adapt to shifted or changing schedules.