Role of clock genes in a mouse model for developmental origins of the metabolic syndrome

每日或昼夜节律对所有生物体都很重要，包括人类。昼夜节律影响生理和行为的几乎所有方面，包括我们的睡眠-觉醒周期，活动，进食行为，心血管功能，体温和新陈代谢。这些节奏是在体内产生的，控制它们的机制在婴儿还在母亲子宫里的时候就形成了。研究表明，母亲在怀孕期间的饮食对保持其后代的健康很重要，也可能影响他们在以后的生活中患肥胖症、糖尿病和心脏病的可能性。如果母亲在怀孕期间吃健康的饮食，人们会期望婴儿的身体功能和新陈代谢的正常昼夜节律的发展，使婴儿能够在童年和成年时期科普健康的饮食。这个人在以后的生活中患肥胖症、糖尿病和心脏病的风险非常低。然而，如果母亲在怀孕期间吃不健康的饮食，可能会导致身体功能和新陈代谢的昼夜节律的异常发展。这会导致睡眠和活动模式的中断，以及婴儿所吃食物的低效处理。婴儿有变重变胖的危险，成年后会有高血压。如果婴儿在出生后和整个童年时期没有吃健康的饮食，而是吃富含脂肪的饮食，婴儿已经打乱了新陈代谢的昼夜节律，现在无法科普这种饮食。这个人很可能会变得肥胖，成年后患糖尿病和心脏病的风险也会大大增加。我们打算使用啮齿动物模型进行本研究。只有选择动物模型才有可能研究这种现象，因为有必要改变产前和纳塔尔饮食，而在孕妇及其婴儿身上进行这些改变是不道德的。

Daily, or circadian, rhythms are important in all organisms, including humans. Circadian rhythms influence nearly all aspects of physiology and behaviour, including our sleep-wake cycles, activity, feeding behaviour, cardiovascular function, body temperature and metabolism. These rhythms are generated within the body and the mechanisms that control them takes form while the baby is still in the mother's womb. Studies have shown that the diet of the mother during pregnancy is important in maintaining the health of her offspring and may also influence their susceptibility to developing obesity, diabetes and heart disease later in life. If the mother eats a healthy diet during pregnancy, one would expect the development of normal circadian rhythms of the baby's body function and metabolism, enabling the baby to cope with a healthy diet in childhood and adulthood. The risk of the person developing obesity, diabetes and heart disease later in life is very low. However, if the mother eats an unhealthy diet during pregnancy it might result in the abnormal development of circadian rhythms of body function and metabolism. This leads to disruption in sleep and activity patterns and inefficient processing of the food the baby eats. The baby is at risk of becoming heavier and fatter and will have high blood pressure in adulthood. If the baby is not brought up after birth and throughout childhood to eat a healthy diet, but eats instead a diet rich in fat, the baby's already disrupted circadian rhythms of metabolism is now not able to cope with this diet. This person is likely to become obese and risk of adult diabetes and heart disease later in life increases considerably. It is our intention of undertaking this study using a rodent model. Only by choosing an animal model is it possible to study this phenomenon, because it is necessary to change both the pre- and post natal diets and it would be unethical to undertake these changes in pregnant mothers and their babies.