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- Title
Dec1 and Dec2 are regulators of the mammalian molecular clock.
- Authors
Honma, Sato; Kawamoto, Takeshi; Takagi, Yumiko; Fujimoto, Katsumi; Sato, Fuyuki; Noshiro, Mitsuhide; Kato, Yukio; Honma, Ken-ichi
- Abstract
The circadian rhythms in mammals are regulated by a pacemaker located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus[SUP 1,2]. Four clock-gene families have been found to be involved in a transcription-translation feedback loop that generates the circadian rhythm at the intracellular level[SUP 3]. The proteins Clock and Bmall form a heterodimer which activates the transcription of the Per gene from the E-box elements in its promoter region[SUP 4,5]. Protein products of Per act together with Cry proteins to inhibit Per transcription[SUP 6,7], thus closing the autoregulatory feedback loop. We found that Decl and Dec2, basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors, repressed Clock/Bmall-induced transactivation of the mouse Perl promoter through direct proteinprotein interactions with Bmall and/or competition for E-box elements. Deal and Dea2 are expressed in the suprachiasmic nucleus in a circadian fashion, with a peak in the subjective day. A brief light pulse induced Deal but not Dec2 expression in the suprachiasmic nucleus in a phase-dependent manner. Deal and Dec2 are regulators of the mammalian molecular clock, and form a fifth clock-gene family.
- Subjects
CIRCADIAN rhythms; MAMMALS
- Publication
Nature, 2002, Vol 419, Issue 6909, p841
- ISSN
0028-0836
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/nature01123