Joint research finds intracellular cAMP in the center of the body clock regulated by neural network

A research group led by Lecturer Daisuke Ono of the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Nagoya University, Tokai National University Organization, has found that intracellular cAMPNote 1 in the center of the body clock is regulated by a neural network and further controls the 24-hour biorhythm. made it clear.
Even in an environment where there is no light or time information, we repeat sleep and wakefulness approximately every 24 hours. This is because we have a biological clock in our bodies. It is known that the circadian clock exists in all cells, and its center is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus Note 2 in the brain. It has been suggested that this biorhythm is regulated by the transcription/translation mechanism of clock genes. In addition, intracellular cAMP is known to be an extremely important molecule involved in the regulation of various cell functions, but the relationship between cAMP and biological rhythms has not been well understood. In this study, we developed a new optical measurement probe Note 3 that visualizes intracellular cAMP and extracellular peptides, and succeeded in imaging the suprachiasmatic nucleus cAMP and peptide secretion rhythm for the first time in the world. Furthermore, we clarified that this cAMP biorhythm is generated by a neuropeptide-mediated neural network, and that cAMP generated by this network regulates the intracellular molecular clock.
Until now, biological rhythms have been thought to be regulated by mechanisms mediated by transcription and translation by clock genes. The results of this research can be said to be an important finding that indicates that the intercellular network plays a major role in the formation of biorhythms.