Aging and Circadian Rhythm: Does a Conserved Link Exist?

Chronobiology is the study of biological rhythms. The human circadian system is a biological process known to regulate the sleeping and waking cycle (circadian rhythm; CR). Components of the circadian system are known as ​​clock genes. Clock genes generate daily oscillations of gene expression and interact as an intricate network to influence biological processes in organisms, tissues and cells. This system is primarily regulated by Earth’s day and night cycles (light and darkness), though it can be affected by other factors, including nutrition, cellular devices, stress, illness, jet lag, and aging. “It is well established that aging interferes with the regulation of the circadian system, which, in return, contributes to the manifestation and progression of aging-related diseases (reviewed in [4, 5]).” Across an organism’s lifespan, changes in circadian rhythm take place. These changes can cause aging-related diseases to become more prevalent. Studies have also shown that age-independent alterations in the circadian system can result in premature aging. This interrelation between aging and CR means that aging may play a role in the circadian system and that the circadian system may play a role in aging. However, researchers have not yet fully illuminated the impact of aging-related circadian system changes on healthy organs and tissues. “Whether aging-related changes of the circadian system’s regulation follow a conserved pattern across different species and tissues, hence representing a common driving force of aging, is unclear.” In an effort to identify circadian rhythm regulatory patterns over the course of aging, researchers—from Friedrich Schiller University Jena, FLI Leibniz Institute for Age Research, Jena University Hospital, German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research, and European Virus Bioinformatics Center—performed inter-species and inter-organ transcriptional analyses. The research paper was published in December of 2021 as the cover of Aging (Aging-US) Volume 12, Issue 24, and entitled, “Age-dependent expression changes of circadian system-related genes reveal a potentially conserved link to aging.” Full blog - https://www.impactjournals.com/journals/blog/aging/aging-and-circadian-rhythm-does-a-conserved-link-exist/ Sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article - https://oncotarget.altmetric.com/details/email_updates?id=10.18632%2Foncotarget.203788 DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.203788 Full Text - https://www.aging-us.com/article/203788/text Correspondence to: Emanuel Barth email: emanuel.barth@uni-jena.de Keywords: aging, circadian clock system, circadian rhythm, inter-species comparison, longevity, RNA-Seq About Aging-US Launched in 2009, Aging-US publishes papers of general interest and biological significance in all fields of aging research and age-related diseases, including cancer—and now, with a special focus on COVID-19 vulnerability as an age-dependent syndrome. Topics in Aging-US go beyond traditional gerontology, including, but not limited to, cellular and molecular biology, human age-related diseases, pathology in model organisms, signal transduction pathways (e.g., p53, sirtuins, and PI-3K/AKT/mTOR, among others), and approaches to modulating these signaling pathways. Please visit our website at http://www.Aging-US.com​​ or connect with us on: SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/Aging-Us Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AgingUS/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/AgingJrnl Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/agingjrnl/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/agingus​ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aging/ Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/AgingUS/ Aging-US is published by Impact Journals, LLC please visit http://www.ImpactJournals.com​​ or connect with @ImpactJrnls Media Contact 18009220957 MEDIA@IMPACTJOURNALS.COM