General
Lecture topic - Circadian clocks: A driving force of rhythmin physiology and metabolism
The circadian clock system has evolved by most organisms as an anticipatory mechanism driving rhythmic oscillations of physiology with approximately 24-hour cycles (circa diem, from Latin “about a day”). A key function of the circadian timing system is to orchestrate metabolism in different organs according to the needs imposed by rest-activity cycles. Light exposure during the night, late meals, and reduced sleep hours associated with modern lifestyle desynchronize intrinsic clocks from environmental cycles.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), a major public health challenge today, is one of the consequences of circadian misalignment. Our works demonstrated that circadian oscillators in metabolic organs ensure temporal orchestration of lipid landscape impacting on the organ function, which is perturbed in T2D patients in a time- and tissue-specific manner. We are eager to dissect the molecular pathways linking the clock and lipid landscape disruption to the pathogenesis of T2D, and to explore its therapeutic potential.