New insights into non-transcriptional regulation of mammalian core clock proteins

Sep 16, 2020Journal of cell science

New understanding of how core body clock proteins are controlled without changing gene activity

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Abstract

Mammalian circadian rhythms drive ∼24 h periodicity in various cellular processes.

Circadian rhythms coordinate physiology and behavior within organisms.
The core timekeeping mechanism involves a delayed negative-feedback loop with specific proteins.
Key proteins include the CLOCK-BMAL1 complex and several repressors.
Recent findings emphasize the importance of post-transcriptional and post-translational modifications.
Understanding these non-transcriptional events may enhance the knowledge of circadian timekeeping.

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Mammalian circadian rhythms drive ∼24 h periodicity in a wide range of cellular processes, temporally coordinating physiology and behaviour within an organism, and synchronising this with the external day-night cycle. The canonical model for this timekeeping consists of a delayed negative-feedback loop, containing transcriptional activator complex CLOCK-BMAL1 (BMAL1 is also known as ARNTL) and repressors period 1, 2 and 3 (PER1, PER2 and PER3) and cryptochrome 1 and 2 (CRY1 and CRY2), along with a number of accessory factors. Although the broad strokes of this system are defined, the exact molecular mechanisms by which these proteins generate a self-sustained rhythm with such periodicity and fidelity remains a topic of much research. Recent studies have identified prominent roles for a number of crucial post-transcriptional, translational and, particularly, post-translational events within the mammalian circadian oscillator, providing an increasingly complex understanding of the activities and interactions of the core clock proteins. In this Review, we highlight such contemporary work on non-transcriptional events and set it within our current understanding of cellular circadian timekeeping.

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New insights into non-transcriptional regulation of mammalian core clock proteins

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