Muscle's Internal Clocks and Their Role in Metabolic Health

Circadian misalignment in humans is associated with disturbed energy metabolism and insulin resistance.

• Skeletal muscle contains peripheral clocks that help manage energy metabolism throughout the day.
• Comparative analysis shows that circadian-clock gene expression patterns are similar in nocturnal rodents and diurnal humans, influenced more by rest/active cycles than by light/dark cycles.
• Disruption of the circadian clock in rodent skeletal muscle leads to impaired glucose handling.
• Timing of exercise may influence its beneficial effects on skeletal-muscle metabolism, with potential relevance for humans.
• Current metabolic health strategies should consider the timing of interventions to effectively modify skeletal-muscle clocks.

Simplified