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Rhythmic expression of cryptochrome induces the circadian clock of arrhythmic suprachiasmatic nuclei through arginine vasopressin signaling.

ABSTRACT: Circadian rhythms in mammals are coordinated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). SCN neurons define circadian time using transcriptional/posttranslational feedback loops (TTFL) in which expression of Cryptochrome (Cry) and Period (Per) genes is inhibited by their protein products. Loss of Cry1 and Cry2 stops the SCN clock, whereas individual deletions accelerate and decelerate it, respectively. At the circuit level, neuronal interactions synchronize cellular TTFLs, creating a spatiotemporal wave of gene expression across the SCN that is lost in Cry1/2-deficient SCN. To interrogate the properties of CRY proteins required for circadian function, we expressed CRY in SCN of Cry-deficient mice using adeno-associated virus (AAV). Expression of CRY1::EGFP or CRY2::EGFP under a minimal Cry1 promoter was circadian and rapidly induced PER2-dependent bioluminescence rhythms in previously arrhythmic Cry1/2-deficient SCN, with periods appropriate to each isoform. CRY1::EGFP appropriately lengthened the behavioral period in Cry1-deficient mice. Thus, determination of specific circadian periods reflects properties of the respective proteins, independently of their phase of expression. Phase of CRY1::EGFP expression was critical, however, because constitutive or phase-delayed promoters failed to sustain coherent rhythms. At the circuit level, CRY1::EGFP induced the spatiotemporal wave of PER2 expression in Cry1/2-deficient SCN. This was dependent on the neuropeptide arginine vasopressin (AVP) because it was prevented by pharmacological blockade of AVP receptors. Thus, our genetic complementation assay reveals acute, protein-specific induction of cell-autonomous and network-level circadian rhythmicity in SCN never previously exposed to CRY. Specifically, Cry expression must be circadian and appropriately phased to support rhythms, and AVP receptor signaling is required to impose circuit-level circadian function.

SUBMITTER: Edwards MD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4791030 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Rhythmic expression of cryptochrome induces the circadian clock of arrhythmic suprachiasmatic nuclei through arginine vasopressin signaling.

Edwards Mathew D MD Brancaccio Marco M Chesham Johanna E JE Maywood Elizabeth S ES Hastings Michael H MH

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20160222 10

Circadian rhythms in mammals are coordinated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). SCN neurons define circadian time using transcriptional/posttranslational feedback loops (TTFL) in which expression of Cryptochrome (Cry) and Period (Per) genes is inhibited by their protein products. Loss of Cry1 and Cry2 stops the SCN clock, whereas individual deletions accelerate and decelerate it, respectively. At the circuit level, neuronal interactions synchronize cellular TTFLs, creating a spatiotemporal wa ...[more]

PMID: 26903624

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Project description:Suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) neurons contain an intracellular molecular circadian clock and the Cryptochromes (CRY1/2), key transcriptional repressors of this molecular apparatus, are subject to post-translational modification through ubiquitination and targeting for proteosomal degradation by the ubiquitin E3 ligase complex. Loss-of-function point mutations in a component of this ligase complex, Fbxl3, delay CRY1/2 degradation, reduce circadian rhythm strength, and lengthen the circadian period by ∼2.5 h. The molecular clock drives circadian changes in the membrane properties of SCN neurons, but it is unclear how alterations in CRY1/2 stability affect SCN neurophysiology. Here we use male and female Afterhours mice which carry the circadian period lengthening loss-of-function Fbxl3Afh mutation and perform patch-clamp recordings from SCN brain slices across the projected day/night cycle. We find that the daily rhythm in membrane excitability in the ventral SCN (vSCN) was enhanced in amplitude and delayed in timing in Fbxl3Afh/Afh mice. At night, vSCN cells from Fbxl3Afh/Afh mice were more hyperpolarized, receiving more GABAergic input than their Fbxl3+/+ counterparts. Unexpectedly, the progression to daytime hyperexcited states was slowed by Afh mutation, whereas the decline to hypoexcited states was accelerated. In long-term bioluminescence recordings, GABAA receptor blockade desynchronized the Fbxl3+/+ but not the Fbxl3Afh/Afh vSCN neuronal network. Further, a neurochemical mimic of the light input pathway evoked larger shifts in molecular clock rhythms in Fbxl3Afh/Afh compared with Fbxl3+/+ SCN slices. These results reveal unanticipated consequences of delaying CRY degradation, indicating that the Afh mutation prolongs nighttime hyperpolarized states of vSCN cells through increased GABAergic synaptic transmission.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The intracellular molecular clock drives changes in SCN neuronal excitability, but it is unclear how mutations affecting post-translational modification of molecular clock proteins influence the temporal expression of SCN neuronal state or intercellular communication within the SCN network. Here we show for the first time, that a mutation that prolongs the stability of key components of the intracellular clock, the cryptochrome proteins, unexpectedly increases in the expression of hypoexcited neuronal state in the ventral SCN at night and enhances hyperpolarization of ventral SCN neurons at this time. This is accompanied by increased GABAergic signaling and by enhanced responsiveness to a neurochemical mimic of the light input pathway to the SCN. Therefore, post-translational modification shapes SCN neuronal state and network properties.

Dataset Information

Rhythmic expression of cryptochrome induces the circadian clock of arrhythmic suprachiasmatic nuclei through arginine vasopressin signaling.

Publications

Rhythmic expression of cryptochrome induces the circadian clock of arrhythmic suprachiasmatic nuclei through arginine vasopressin signaling.

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