Endocrine regulation of circadian rhythms

Circadian clocks are internal timekeepers enabling organisms to adapt to recurrent events in their environment - such as the succession of day and night-by controlling essential behaviors such as food intake or the sleep-wake cycle. A ubiquitous cellular clock network regulates numerous physiological processes including the endocrine system. Levels of several hormones such as melatonin, cortisol, sex hormones, thyroid stimulating hormone as well as a number of metabolic factors vary across the day, and some of them, in turn, can feedback on circadian clock rhythms. In this review, we dissect the principal ways by which hormones can regulate circadian rhythms in target tissues - as phasic drivers of…

• DF
  Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

  Award: OS353/10-1