Circadian clocks of the adrenal medulla
Final Report Abstract
Glucocorticoids are important hormones produced in a rhythmic manner by the adrenal cortex. Their levels are regulated by the circadian clock, including the local clock of the adrenal gland. In this project, we analyzed the role of molecular clocks in the adrenal medulla and their contribution to daily glucocorticoid rhythms. We found that adrenal medulla clock function seems not to be essential for the generation of rhythmic glucocorticoid release or to acute stress responses. Indeed, the knock down of the clock of the adrenal medulla did not have a major effect on gene expression rhythms in the adrenal, which appear to be mostly driven by systemic time cues, nor did it affect the animals’ adaptation to jetlag. Conversely, our experiments revealed an opposite communication between the two (clocks of) adrenergic compartments: GCs produced by the adrenal cortex communicate with and influence the medulla clock and, potentially, their output. Ongoing experiments focus on this interaction and aim at understanding its relevance for stress responses mediated by catecholaminergic signals originating from the adrenal medulla.
Publications
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Glucocorticoid circadian rhythms in immune function. Seminars in Immunopathology, 44(2), 153-163.
Olejniczak, Iwona; Oster, Henrik & Ray, David W.
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Restructuring of the male mice peripheral circadian network after bariatric surgery. Journal of Endocrinology, 250(2), 67-79.
Neumann, Anne-Marie; Geißler, Cathleen; Pilorz, Violetta; Olejniczak, Iwona; Lewis, Alfor G.; Seeley, Randy J.; Shomroni, Orr; Salinas-Riester, Gabriela; Kirchner, Henriette & Oster, Henrik
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Studying Circadian Clock Entrainment by Hormonal Signals. Methods in Molecular Biology, 137-152. Springer US.
Pilorz, Violetta; Olejniczak, Iwona & Oster, Henrik
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Circle(s) of Life: The Circadian Clock from Birth to Death. Biology, 12(3), 383.
Olejniczak, Iwona; Pilorz, Violetta & Oster, Henrik
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The circadian neurobiology of reward. Acta Physiologica, 237(3).
Olejniczak, Iwona; Begemann, Kimberly; Wilhelm, Ines & Oster, Henrik
