Abstract
Endogenous circadian clocks facilitate the adaptation of physiology and behavior to recurring environmental changes brought about by the Earth's rotation around its axis. Adipose tissues harbor intrinsic circadian oscillators based on interlocked transcriptional-translational feedback loops built from a set of clock genes that regulate important aspects of lipid metabolism and adipose endocrine function. These adipocyte clocks are reset via neuronal and endocrine pathways originating from a master circadian pacemaker residing in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus. One important mediator of circadian output is the stress hormone cortisol, which, at the same time, is one of the major regulators of adipose physiology. In this review we summarize recent findings on the interaction between circadian and stress systems in the regulation of adipose physiology and discuss the implications of this crosstalk for the development of metabolic disorders associated with circadian disruption and/or chronic stress, for example in shift workers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Hormone Molecular Biology and Clinical Investigation |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Pages (from-to) | 103-115 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| ISSN | 1868-1883 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 01.01.2014 |
Funding
Acknowledgments: H.O. is a Lichtenberg fellow of the Volkswagen Foundation. I.K. is funded by the German Research Foundation (GRK 1957). A.T. is funded by the Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences and Molecular Biology (GGNB). Funding: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, (Grant/ Award Number: ‘GRK 1957 (IK)’) Volkswagen Foundation, (Grant/Award Number: ‘Lichtenberg fellowship (HO)’) Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, (Grant/Award Number: ‘GGNB Excellence stipend (AHT)’).
