Self-sustained circadian rhythm in cultured human mononuclear cells isolated from peripheral blood

• Published in: Neuroscience research Vol. 66; no. 2; pp. 223 - 227
• Main Authors: Ebisawa, Takashi, Numazawa, Kahori, Shimada, Hiroko, Izutsu, Hiroyuki, Sasaki, Tsukasa, Kato, Nobumasa, Tokunaga, Katsushi, Mori, Akio, Honma, Ken-ichi, Honma, Sato, Shibata, Shigenobu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.02.2010
• Subjects: Animals; Cells, Cultured; Circadian Rhythm - genetics; Clock genes; CLOCK Proteins - genetics; Gene Expression; Human biological clock; Human circadian rhythm; Humans; Leukocytes, Mononuclear - cytology; Leukocytes, Mononuclear - physiology; Luciferase; Male; Mice; Mononuclear cells; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Messenger - genetics; Self-sustained circadian rhythm; Sleep Wake Disorders - genetics; Sleep Wake Disorders - physiopathology; Human biological clock; Clock genes; Mononuclear cells; Luciferase; Human circadian rhythm; Self-sustained circadian rhythm
• ISSN: 0168-0102; 1872-8111
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2009.10.007

Disturbed circadian rhythmicity is associated with human diseases such as sleep and mood disorders. However, study of human endogenous circadian rhythm is laborious and time-consuming, which hampers the elucidation of diseases. It has been reported that peripheral tissues exhibit circadian rhythmicity as the suprachiasmatic nucleus—the center of the biological clock. We tried to study human circadian rhythm using cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from a single collection of venous blood. Activated human PBMCs showed self-sustained circadian rhythm of clock gene expression, which indicates that they are useful for investigating human endogenous circadian rhythm.