The molecular clockwork drives the rhythmic expression of clock controlled gene (see below) and posttranscriptional processes (reviewed in
[34][36]) and modulates the chromatin landscape
[35][37], thus regulating rhythmic cell function at multiple levels. The molecular clockwork in the SCN and subordinate extra-SCN brain circadian oscillators drives various rhythms in neuron and glia function including ATP concentration
[36][38], neuronal electrical activity (reviewed in
[37][39]), metabolism
[38][40], redox homeostasis (reviewed in
[39][41]), tyrosine hydroxylase expression in dopaminergic neurons
[40][42], dopamine receptor signalling in the hippocampus
[41][43], and extracellular glutamate homeostasis
[42][44]. In addition, some rhythms in the SCN are time-of day-dependent and do not persist in constant darkness, such as rhythmic expression of connexion 30
[43][45], which contribute to astrocyte gap junctions and hemichannels (reviewed in
[44][46]), as well as the stability of circadian rhythms and re-entrainment under challenging conditions
[43][45]. Circadian clock gene expression in the SCN and the hippocampus persists with high robustness in vitro, indicating a strong coupling of single cell oscillators, while it damps rapidly in other brain regions, indicating a weak coupling
[45][46][47][47,48,49]. Mice with a targeted deletion of the essential clock gene
Bmal1 are arrhythmic under constant environmental conditions
[48][50], so a loss of function in a single gene strongly affects circadian rhythmicity. In mouse models for compromised molecular clockwork function, such as Bmal1-deficient mice,
Per1/2 double mutants, and
Cry1/Cry2 double mutants, circadian rhythms are abolished, while various parameters of physiology and behaviour are rhythmic under the LD 12:12 conditions due to masking
[48][49][50][50,51,52]. This emphasizes the strong impact of the environmental light/dark conditions on rhythmic brain function. In this context, it is important to note that
Cry1/Cry2 double mutants and Bmal1-deficient mice show deficits in retinal visual physiology
[51][53] and, consequently, impaired visual input into the circadian system
[52][53][54,55]. Nevertheless, even under LD 12:12 conditions, many brain functions, such as spatial memory consolidation and contextual fear
[54][55][56,57], adult neurogenesis
[56][58], and sleep architecture
[57][59] are affected in Bmal1-deficient mice, indicating the importance of this clock gene/transcription factor for general brain function.
2.4. Rhythmic Gene and Protein Expression in the Brain
About 43% of all coding genes and about 1000 noncoding RNAs show circadian rhythms in transcription somewhere in the body, largely in an organ/tissue-specific manner
[58][59][60][60,61,62]. The rhythmic transcriptome in peripheral organs is dependent on the SCN
[60][62] but continues to oscillate in vitro for a few cycles
[61][63]. Only 22% of circadian rhythmic mRNA is driven by de novo transcription, indicating that the molecular clock drives transcription and posttranslational modification
[35][37]. Moreover, the epigenetic landscape is modulated in a circadian manner
[35][37]. A comparable number of transcripts show a circadian oscillation in the SCN and the liver, while only about 10% of them show an overlap
[59][61]. The core clock genes
Arntl (encoding for Bmal1),
Dbp,
Nr1d1 and
Nr1d2 (encoding for Rev-Erb alpha and beta, respectively),
Per1,
Per2, and
Per3, as well as the clock controlled genes
Usp2,
Tsc22d3, and
Tspan4 oscillate in many organs and parts of the brain
[58][60]. Importantly, many commonly used drugs target the products of the circadian genes, so the timed application of these drugs, chronotherapy, might maximize efficacy, and minimize side effects
[58][60]. In accordance with the important role of the brain stem in the regulation of autonomous and vital functions, more than 30% of the drug-target circadian genes listed in the study by Zhang et al. (2014) are rhythmically expressed in this part of the brain. In the retina, about 277 genes show a circadian rhythm, implicated in a variety of functions, including synaptic transmission, photoreceptor signalling, intracellular communication, cytoskeleton reorganization, and chromatin remodelling
[62][64]. Intriguingly, in LD 12:12, about 10 times as many genes oscillate, indicating that the LD cycle drives the rhythmic expression of a large number of genes in the retina
[62][64]. In the forebrain synapses, a comparable amount of genes (2085, thus 67% of synaptic RNAs) show a time-of-day-dependent rhythm, and a high percentage of these genes remain rhythmic in constant darkness (circadian)
[63][65]. Interestingly, the rhythmic genes in the forebrain synapses can be segregated into two temporal domains, predusk and predawn, relating to distinct functions; predusk mRNAs relate to synapse organization, synaptic transmission, cognition, and behaviour, while predawn mRNAs relate to metabolism, translation, and cell proliferation or development
[63][65]. The oscillation of the synaptic proteome resembles those of the transcriptome
[63][65] and a high percentage show an oscillation in the phosphorylation state
[64][66].
2.5 Sleep Deprivation, Epilepsy, and Glucocorticoids Affect Gene and Protein Expression in the Brain
Sleep deprivation induced by gentle handling, cage tapping, and the introduction of novel objects during the light/inactive phase affects clock gene expression in the cerebral cortex
[65][67] and leads to a reduction in transcript oscillation in the entire brain to about 20%
[66][68]. This indicates that the sleep disruption itself, and/or the manipulation, as well as the associated additional light exposure, which mice usually do not experience while sleeping, strongly affects rhythmic transcription. On the other hand, it shows that only 20% of the rhythmic transcriptome in the brain is resilient to sleep deprivation, manipulation, and light exposure during the light/inactive phase. In forebrain synapses, sleep deprivation has a higher impact on the proteome and on rhythmic protein phosphorylation than on the transcriptome
[63][64][65,66]. In this context, it is important to note that traditional sleep deprivation protocols using sensory-motor stimulation induces stress associated with a rise in circulating corticosterone
[67][69], an important temporal signal within the circadian system. Corticosterone strongly contributes to the sleep-deprivation-induced forebrain transcriptome
[68][70]. Among the genes assigned to the corticosterone surge are clock genes, as well as genes implicated in sleep homeostasis, cell metabolism, and protein synthesis, while the transcripts that respond to sleep loss independent of corticosterone relate to neuroprotection
[68][70]. The time-of-day-dependent oscillation in hippocampal transcriptome and proteome is affected by temporal lobe epilepsy
[69][71]. Although epilepsy could be considered a chronic stress model
[70][72], little is known on the contribution of glucocorticoids in these alterations. More research avoiding stress as a confounder is needed to explore the effect of sleep and neurological disorders on rhythmic brain function.