Project description:Our study looks at the dirsruption of lung circadian transcriptome that occurs when neutrophils are depleted (by application of antibodies (anti-Ly6G-1A8) to wildtype C57BL/6 mice, or Diphtheria toxin (DT) to neutrophil-specific DT-susceptible mice (MRP8-Cre;iDTR-flox)).
Project description:In this study, we used RNA sequencing to interrogate how muscle and liver autonomous clocks influence the circadian transcriptome across these two organs.
Project description:Diurnal (i.e., 24-hour) physiological rhythms depend on transcriptional programs controlled by a set of circadian clock genes/proteins. Systemic factors like humoral and neuronal signals, oscillations in body temperature, and food intake align physiological circadian rhythms with external time. Thyroid hormones (THs) are major regulators of circadian clock target processes such as energy metabolism, but little is known about how fluctuations in TH levels affect the circadian coordination of tissue physiology. In this study, a high triiodothyronine (T3) state was induced in mice by supplementing T3 in the drinking water, which affected body temperature, and oxygen consumption in a time-of-day dependent manner. 24-hour transcriptome profiling of liver tissue identified 37 robustly and time independently T3 associated transcripts as potential TH state markers in the liver. Such genes participated in xenobiotic transport, lipid and xenobiotic metabolism. We also identified 10 – 15 % of the liver transcriptome as rhythmic in control and T3 groups, but only 4 % of the liver transcriptome (1,033 genes) were rhythmic across both conditions – amongst these several core clock genes. In-depth rhythm analyses showed that most changes in transcript rhythms were related to mesor (50%), followed by amplitude (10%), and phase (10%). Gene set enrichment analysis revealed TH state dependent reorganization of metabolic processes such as lipid and glucose metabolism. At high T3 levels, we observed weakening or loss of rhythmicity for transcripts associated with glucose and fatty acid metabolism, suggesting increased hepatic energy turnover. In sum, we provide evidence that tonic changes in T3 levels restructure the diurnal liver metabolic transcriptome independent of local molecular circadian clocks.
Project description:Circadian rhythms are integral to maintaining metabolic health by temporally coordinating metabolic functions across tissues. However, the mechanisms underlying circadian cross-tissue coordination remain poorly understood. In this study, we uncover a central role for the liver clock in regulating circadian rhythms in white adipose tissue (WAT). Using a liver-specific Bmal1 knockout mouse model, we show that hepatic circadian control is crucial for lipid metabolism in WAT. In addition, by utilizing a model where functional clocks are restricted to the liver, we demonstrate that the liver clock alone drives circadian gene expression in WAT, including Cebpa, a key regulator of adipogenesis. Mechanistically, we show that circadian liver-to-WAT communication is mediated through secreted proteins, including the adaptor protein 14-3-3η (Ywhah). The clinical relevance of these findings is supported by human cohort data, which correlate liver YWHAH expression with lipid metabolic pathways in WAT and cardiometabolic risk factors. These findings provide a mechanistic framework for how the liver clock coordinates WAT physiology and highlights its central role in cardiometabolic health, offering potential insights for targeted circadian-based therapies for metabolic disorders.
Project description:Circadian rhythms are integral to maintaining metabolic health by temporally coordinating metabolic functions across tissues. However, the mechanisms underlying circadian cross-tissue coordination remain poorly understood. In this study, we uncover a central role for the liver clock in regulating circadian rhythms in white adipose tissue (WAT). Using a liver-specific Bmal1 knockout mouse model, we show that hepatic circadian control is crucial for lipid metabolism in WAT. In addition, by utilizing a model where functional clocks are restricted to the liver, we demonstrate that the liver clock alone drives circadian gene expression in WAT, including Cebpa, a key regulator of adipogenesis. Mechanistically, we show that circadian liver-to-WAT communication is mediated through secreted proteins, including the adaptor protein 14-3-3η (Ywhah). The clinical relevance of these findings is supported by human cohort data, which correlate liver YWHAH expression with lipid metabolic pathways in WAT and cardiometabolic risk factors. These findings provide a mechanistic framework for how the liver clock coordinates WAT physiology and highlights its central role in cardiometabolic health, offering potential insights for targeted circadian-based therapies for metabolic disorders.
Project description:Circadian rhythms are integral to maintaining metabolic health by temporally coordinating metabolic functions across tissues. However, the mechanisms underlying circadian cross-tissue coordination remain poorly understood. In this study, we uncover a central role for the liver clock in regulating circadian rhythms in white adipose tissue (WAT). Using a liver-specific Bmal1 knockout mouse model, we show that hepatic circadian control is crucial for lipid metabolism in WAT. In addition, by utilizing a model where functional clocks are restricted to the liver, we demonstrate that the liver clock alone drives circadian gene expression in WAT, including Cebpa, a key regulator of adipogenesis. Mechanistically, we show that circadian liver-to-WAT communication is mediated through secreted proteins, including the adaptor protein 14-3-3η (Ywhah). The clinical relevance of these findings is supported by human cohort data, which correlate liver YWHAH expression with lipid metabolic pathways in WAT and cardiometabolic risk factors. These findings provide a mechanistic framework for how the liver clock coordinates WAT physiology and highlights its central role in cardiometabolic health, offering potential insights for targeted circadian-based therapies for metabolic disorders.
Project description:We report the application of bulk RNA-sequencing-based technology for high-throughput profiling to examine the individual and combinatorial effects of the liver circadian clock and gut microbes on the liver transcriptome over 24-hours. Principle Component Analysis demonstrated that functionality of the liver circadian clock is the primary driver of the hepatic transcriptome profile, and presence of microbes is the secondary driver. We identified a range of significantly oscillating transcripts within each experimental group using empirical_JTK_CYCLE, and revealed an overall increase in oscillating transcripts with both the loss of cuntional liver clock and gut microbes. Network analysis via Spearman correlation revealed that a broken liver clock results in increased connections and correlated transcripts only in the presence of gut microbes. Finally, we show by differential expression and gene set enrichment analysis that several key metabolic pathways, particularly carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, were significantly downregulated when the liver clock is broken, regardless of microbial status. This study demonstrates the complex contributions of the liver circadian clock and gut microbes in transcriptome programming, both over time and overall.
Project description:Chronic liver disease and cancer are global health challenges. The role of the circadian clock (CC) as a regulator of physiology and disease is well established in animal models. However, in human liver the identity of circadian genes and their epigenetic regulation is unknown. Here, we unraveled the circadian transcriptome and epigenome of human hepatocytes using a human liver chimeric mouse model. We identified genes coding for transcription factors, chromatin modifiers, and critical enzymes which are expressed rhythmically in human hepatocytes, and which differ from the mouse liver circadian transcriptome. Moreover, we show that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, a major cause of liver disease and cancer world-wide, perturbs the human hepatocellular clock leading to an activation of pathways mediating steatosis, fibrosis and cancer. The HCV-disrupted rhythmic hepatic pathways remained deregulated in patients cured of HCV suggesting a major role in liver cancer development, and in the identification of therapeutic targets.