QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, January 12, 2005, 25(2):404-408; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4133-04.2005

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (22) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Prolo, L. M. Articles by Herzog, E. D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Prolo, L. M. Articles by Herzog, E. D. Pubmed/NCBI databases Substance via MeSH

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

BRIEF COMMUNICATION
Circadian Rhythm Generation and Entrainment in Astrocytes

Laura M. Prolo,¹ Joseph S. Takahashi,² and Erik D. Herzog¹

¹Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130-4899, and ²Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208

In mammals, the master circadian pacemaker is considered the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus. The SCN consists of a heterogeneous population of neurons and relatively understudied glia. We investigated whether glia, like neurons, rhythmically express circadian genes. We generated pure cultures of cortical astrocytes from Period2::luciferase (Per2::luc) knock-in mice and Period1::luciferase (Per1::luc) transgenic rats and recorded bioluminescence as a real-time reporter of gene activity. We found that rat Per1::luc and mouse Per2::luc astroglia express circadian rhythms with a genetically determined period. These rhythms damped out after several days but were reinitiated by a variety of treatments, including a full volume exchange of the medium. If cultures were treated before damping out, the phase of Per1::luc rhythmicity was shifted, depending on the time of the pulse relative to the peak of Per1 expression. Glial rhythms entrained to daily 1.5°C temperature cycles and were significantly sustained when cocultured with explants of the adult SCN but not with cortical explants. Thus, multiple signals, including a diffusible factor(s) from the SCN, are sufficient to either entrain or restart circadian oscillations in cortical glia.

Key words: glia; suprachiasmatic nucleus; pacemaker; oscillator; Period1 gene; luciferase

---

Received Oct 5, 2004; revised November 14, 2004; accepted November 19, 2004.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B.-R. Kim, L. Zhang, A. Berg, J. Fan, and R. Wu A Computational Approach to the Functional Clustering of Periodic Gene-Expression Profiles Genetics, October 1, 2008; 180(2): 821 - 834. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. H. Miller, E. L. McDearmon, S. Panda, K. R. Hayes, J. Zhang, J. L. Andrews, M. P. Antoch, J. R. Walker, K. A. Esser, J. B. Hogenesch, et al. Circadian and CLOCK-controlled regulation of the mouse transcriptome and cell proliferation PNAS, February 27, 2007; 104(9): 3342 - 3347. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. T. Glaser and R. Stanewsky Synchronization of the Drosophila Circadian Clock by Temperature Cycles Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol, January 1, 2007; 72(0): 233 - 242. [Abstract] [PDF]

				U. Abraham, J. L. Prior, D. Granados-Fuentes, D. R. Piwnica-Worms, and E. D. Herzog Independent Circadian Oscillations of Period1 in Specific Brain Areas In Vivo and In Vitro J. Neurosci., September 21, 2005; 25(38): 8620 - 8626. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help