Early rhythmicity in the fetal suprachiasmatic nuclei in response to maternal signals detected by omics approach

• Published in: PLoS biology Vol. 20; no. 5; p. e3001637
• Main Authors: Greiner, Philipp, Houdek, Pavel, Sládek, Martin, Sumová, Alena
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 24-05-2022; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Analysis; Animals; Biology and Life Sciences; Cell signaling; Circadian Rhythm - genetics; Circadian rhythms; Clock gene; Darkness; Female; Fetus - physiology; Fetuses; Food; Food availability; Food selection; Gene expression; Genes; Genetic aspects; Histology; Hypothalamus; Medicine and Health Sciences; Mice; Population; Pregnancy; Proteomics; Rats; Research and Analysis Methods; Rhythm; Signaling; Suprachiasmatic nucleus; Suprachiasmatic Nucleus - metabolism; Surgery; Transcriptomics; Czech Republic
• ISSN: 1545-7885; 1544-9173; 1545-7885
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001637

The suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus harbor the central clock of the circadian system, which gradually matures during the perinatal period. In this study, time-resolved transcriptomic and proteomic approaches were used to describe fetal SCN tissue-level rhythms before rhythms in clock gene expression develop. Pregnant rats were maintained in constant darkness and had intact SCN, or their SCN were lesioned and behavioral rhythm was imposed by temporal restriction of food availability. Model-selecting tools dryR and CompareRhythms identified sets of genes in the fetal SCN that were rhythmic in the absence of the fetal canonical clock. Subsets of rhythmically expressed genes were assigned to groups of fetuses from mothers with either intact or lesioned SCN, or both groups. Enrichment analysis for GO terms and signaling pathways revealed that neurodevelopment and cell-to-cell signaling were significantly enriched within the subsets of genes that were rhythmic in response to distinct maternal signals. The findings discovered a previously unexpected breadth of rhythmicity in the fetal SCN at a developmental stage when the canonical clock has not yet developed at the tissue level and thus likely represents responses to rhythmic maternal signals.