| First Author | Cao R | Year | 2015 |
| Journal | Nat Neurosci | Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 6 | Pages | 855-62 |
| PubMed ID | 25915475 | Mgi Jnum | J:222853 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5645827 | Doi | 10.1038/nn.4010 |
| Citation | Cao R, et al. (2015) Light-regulated translational control of circadian behavior by eIF4E phosphorylation. Nat Neurosci 18(6):855-62 |
| abstractText | The circadian ( approximately 24 h) clock is continuously entrained (reset) by ambient light so that endogenous rhythms are synchronized with daily changes in the environment. Light-induced gene expression is thought to be the molecular mechanism underlying clock entrainment. mRNA translation is a key step of gene expression, but the manner in which clock entrainment is controlled at the level of mRNA translation is not well understood. We found that a light- and circadian clock-regulated MAPK/MNK pathway led to phosphorylation of the cap-binding protein eIF4E in the mouse suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus, the locus of the master circadian clock in mammals. Phosphorylation of eIF4E specifically promoted translation of Period 1 (Per1) and Period 2 (Per2) mRNAs and increased the abundance of basal and inducible PER proteins, which facilitated circadian clock resetting and precise timekeeping. Together, these results highlight a critical role for light-regulated translational control in the physiology of the circadian clock. |
