Last updated: February 04, 2023, 1:28 PM IST
The sleep-wake cycle, hormone synthesis and metabolism are just some of the physiological activities controlled by the circulatory system.
According to the study, gender, age and other factors have little effect on the basic qualities of the clock machine as they are maintained throughout the body.
The circadian clock, which regulates numerous physiological processes such as the sleep-wake cycle, hormone synthesis and metabolism, is a precisely calibrated clock that runs in the human body and is synchronized with the 24-hour cycle of the Earth’s rotation.
The circadian clock is a very accurate clock that is synchronized with the 24-hour cycle of the Earth’s rotation. It regulates several physiological processes, including the sleep-wake cycle, hormone synthesis and metabolism.
Felix Naef from EPFL recently provided insight into how our body clocks are influenced by gender and age by revealing the architecture of tissue-specific gene expression rhythms in humans.
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Timestamp measurements are often used to study molecular rhythms in model organisms, but they are not often available to humans. To get around this, the researchers used a unique computer technique developed to assign internal clock times to about a thousand donors using pre-existing measurements from a sizable cohort of postmortem donors.
Felix Naef notes that the data science technique they created seemed “interesting” to models of magnetic systems, which are extensively explored in statistical physics. The researchers’ groundbreaking method allowed them to create the first thorough and accurate, whole-organism representation of 24-hour gene expression cycles in 46 human tissues.
The core features of the body’s clock mechanisms are maintained throughout the body, so the study finds that gender, age and other conditions do not affect them. However, the study identified widespread gene expression patterns in critical metabolism compartments, stress response pathways and immune system. Timing in the adrenal gland peaks first, according to the growing organization of circadian timing throughout the body, while the rhythmicity of brain regions was significantly slower than that of metabolic organs. Instead, rhythmic gene expression occurs as morning and evening waves.
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A hitherto unidentified wealth of sex- and age-specific gene expression rhythms spanning biological functions was discovered when the donors were divided by sex and age. Surprisingly, while rhythmic programs often diminished with age across the body, gene expression rhythms were gender dimorphic (different in males and females) and more persistent in females.
The “xenobiotic detoxification” of the liver, or the process by which the liver breaks down toxic compounds, was where sex dimorphic rhythms – referring to the differences between men and women – emerged most clearly. The study also found that as people age, the rate of gene expression in the heart arteries slows down, which may help explain why older people are more vulnerable to heart disease. The study of “chronopharmacology,” or how a person’s internal clock affects the effectiveness and side effects of medications, can make use of the information provided.
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This study offers new perspectives on the complicated interactions between our biological clock, sex and aging. Understanding these cycles can help us develop new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for diseases, including sleep problems and metabolic disorders.
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