Circadian rhythm signalling peptides and proteins articles within Nature

Featured

• News & Views | 21 December 2011

  On time metabolism

  In mammals, molecular clocks regulate transcription and glucose homeostasis. One way they do so is by controlling glucocorticoid-receptor signalling, which suggests that clocks are embedded in liver metabolism. See Letter p.552

  • Joseph Bass

• Letter | 14 December 2011

  Cryptochromes mediate rhythmic repression of the glucocorticoid receptor

  Circadian co-regulators cryptochrome 1 and 2 are shown to alter globally the transcriptional response to glucocorticoids in mouse embryonic fibroblasts.

  • Katja A. Lamia
  • , Stephanie J. Papp
  •  & Ronald M. Evans

• Letter | 13 November 2011

  Structure of full-length Drosophila cryptochrome

  • Brian D. Zoltowski
  • , Anand T. Vaidya
  •  & Brian R. Crane

• Letter | 18 June 2010

  Disruption of the clock components CLOCK and BMAL1 leads to hypoinsulinaemia and diabetes

  Circadian rhythms control many physiological functions. During periods of feeding, pancreatic islets secrete insulin to maintain glucose homeostasis — a rhythmic process that is disturbed in people with diabetes. These authors show that pancreatic islets contain their own clock: they have self-sustained circadian oscillations of CLOCK and BMAL1 genes and proteins, which are vital for the regulation of circadian rhythms. Without this clock, a cascade of cellular failure and pathology initiates the onset of diabetes mellitus.

  • Biliana Marcheva
  • , Kathryn Moynihan Ramsey
  •  & Joseph Bass