Lesion of the serotonergic terminals in the suprachiasmatic nuclei limits the phase advance of body temperature rhythm in food-restricted rats fed during daytime

Glucocorticoid-mediated nycthemeral and photoperiodic regulation of tph2 expression

In the Syrian hamster dorsal and median raphé nuclei, the tryptophan hydroxylase 2 gene (tph2), which codes the rate-limiting enzyme of serotonin synthesis, displays daily variations in its expression in animals entrained to a long but not to a short photoperiod. The present study aimed to assess the role of glucocorticoids in the nycthemeral and photoperiodic regulation of daily tph2 expression. In hamsters held in long photoperiod from birth, after adrenalectomy and glucocorticoid implants the suppression of glucocorticoid rhythms induced an abolition of the daily variations in tph2-mRNA concentrations, a decrease in the amplitude of body temperature rhythms and an increase in testosterone levels. All these effects were reversed after experimental restoration of a clear daily rhythm in the plasma glucocorticoid concentrations. We conclude that the photoperiod-dependent rhythm of glucocorticoids is the main regulator of tph2 daily expression.

Paradoxical sleep suppresses immediate early gene expression in the rodent suprachiasmatic nuclei

Light stimulates neuronal activity with subsequent expression of the protein product of the immediate early gene, c-fos, in the Suprachiasmatic Nuclei (SCN). Non-photic stimuli is also thought to modulate activity within the SCN. Here, we sought to determine the effects intrinsic stimuli, specifically, the states of sleep upon c-fos protein expression in the SCN. In 16 rats, c-fos protein expression was evaluated at a fixed time of 1600 h (subjective night), following 1 h of electroencephalographically defined sleep. During sleep, as the state of paradoxical sleep (PS) increased, c-fos protein expression decreased (r = −0.41, p < 0.033). The PS-associated reduction of c-fos positive cells occurred equally between animals asleep in the light and those asleep in the dark. We propose a model whereby PS duration might function as a homeostatic-entraining mechanism to reduce neuronal activity within the SCN, and thereby modulate circadian rhythms during sleep.

Interactions between light, mealtime and calorie restriction to control daily timing in mammals

Daily variations in behaviour and physiology are controlled by a circadian timing system consisting of a network of oscillatory structures. In mammals, a master clock, located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus, adjusts timing of other self-sustained oscillators in the brain and peripheral organs. Synchronisation to external cues is mainly achieved by ambient light, which resets the SCN clock. Other environmental factors, in particular food availability and time of feeding, also influence internal timing. Timed feeding can reset the phase of the peripheral oscillators whilst having almost no effect in shifting the phase of the SCN clockwork when animals are exposed (synchronised) to a light-dark cycle. Food deprivation and calorie restriction lead not only to loss of body mass (>15%) and increased motor activity, but also affect the timing of daily activity, nocturnal animals becoming partially diurnal (i.e. they are active during their usual sleep period). This change in behavioural timing is due in part to the fact that metabolic cues associated with calorie restriction affect the SCN clock and its synchronisation to light.

Tissue-specific expression of tryptophan hydroxylase mRNAs in the rat midbrain: anatomical evidence and daily profiles

Serotonin (5-HT) is involved in both photic and non-photic synchronization of the mammalian biological clock located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). We have previously demonstrated that tryptophan hydroxylase protein (TPH), the rate-limiting enzyme of 5-HT synthesis, shows circadian rhythmicity in the pathways projecting from the raphe nuclei to the intergeniculate leaflets of the thalamus on one hand, and to the SCN on the other hand. In this study, we investigate whether the circadian rhythmicity in TPH protein could result from the rhythmic expression of tph gene in the raphe nuclei. We thus cloned specific tph1 and tph2 partial cDNAs and assessed the daily profiles of TPH mRNA levels by in situ hybridization in the rat raphe nuclei. Our results demonstrate that: (i) tph2 gene is exclusively expressed in the raphe nuclei, whereas tph1 gene is expressed in the pineal gland; (ii) under light-dark cycle (LD), TPH2 mRNA levels present daily variation within both median and dorsal raphe nuclei; (iii) under constant darkness TPH2 mRNA levels in both nuclei exhibit the same variation reported under LD cycle. These data show that the circadian 5-HT synthesis within the serotonergic neurons projecting to the circadian system might be explained by the rhythmic transcription of the tph2 gene in raphe nuclei. Taking our result with previous data into consideration, we further suggest that 5-HT synthesis and release within the circadian system could be directly or indirectly under the control of the SCN.

Excessive testosterone treatment and castration induce reactive astrocytes and fos immunoreactivity in suprachiasmatic nucleus of mice

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) has long been recognized as the central mammalian circadian pacemaker that controls behavioral and physiological processes. The role of the SCN in circadian rhythms has been the subject of a wide range of physiological and behavioral studies, although the influence of homeostasis rhythms (such as fluctuating hormone levels) on the SCN of the hypothalamus is not entirely clear. The present study was undertaken to examine the morphological interactions between astroglial and neuronal elements in the SCN of mice after either a short-term excessive testosterone treatment (ETT) or castration, using glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and immediate early gene c-fos as well as calbindin-D28k (CB) immunohistochemistry. Both ETT and castration resulted in a significant increase in the accumulation of reactive astrocytes and Fos-imunoreactivity (IR), especially in the dorsomedial (DM) sub-region of the SCN. However, CB-IR neurons in the examined brain regions showed little change. These findings indicate that the DM sub-region of the SCN may be a possible center of hormonal regulation via a hypothalamic neuroendocrine circuit, and that a non-photic stimuli mechanism might play a role in circadian rhythm regulation.

Circadian tryptophan hydroxylase levels and serotonin release in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the rat

Serotonin (5-HT) plays an important role in the regulation of the time-keeping system in rodents. In the present study, we have investigated the interplay between the rhythms of 5-HT synthesis and release in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the rat. The quantitative distribution of tryptophan hydroxylase (TpH) protein was used as an index of 5-HT synthesis, in perikarya and terminals areas. In the raphe medianus, the maximal levels of TpH was reached in the early daytime period, followed by a decrease before the onset of darkness. Conversely, in the axon terminals of the SCN the highest levels of TpH were found before the onset of the dark-period. Furthermore, TpH amount in SCN displays variations depending on the anatomical area of the SCN. Extracellular 5-HT peaked at the beginning of the night, as evidenced by in vivo microdialysis in the SCN. The 5-HT metabolite, 5-HIAA, presented a similar pattern, but the acrophase occurred in the middle of the dark period. These results suggest that TpH is transported from the soma to the nerve terminals in which 5-HT is synthesized during daytime. This would fill the intracellular stores of 5-HT to provide for its nocturnal release.

Entrainment of rat circadian rhythms by melatonin does not depend on the serotonergic afferents to the suprachiasmatic nuclei

Daily administration of melatonin (MEL) can entrain rat circadian rhythms free-running in constant darkness. The high MEL doses needed to obtain entrainment suggest the implication of other neural mechanisms than simply an effect on the hormone's specific receptors detected in the SCN. Administration of serotonin receptor agonists can phase-shift the rodent circadian clock, and MEL is known to modulate release and reuptake of serotonin in nerve endings. This raises the question of a critical involvement of 5-HT-fibres in the entraining properties of MEL. The aim of the present study was to test this hypothesis. Bilateral neurotoxic (5,7-dihydroxytryptamine) lesions of the serotonergic fibres in the SCN were performed in animals kept in LD 12:12. Following the post-operative period, the animals were transferred to constant darkness to free-run. MEL was then administered by a 1 h daily infusion. Both well lesioned and intact animals entrained to MEL. No differences were observed between lesioned and control animals on parameters such as the phase-angles between MEL onset and activity onset, and core body temperature acrophase, respectively. Entrainment of rat circadian rhythms to exogenous MEL is thus not directly dependent on the 5-HT fibres in the SCN.

Role of the thalamic intergeniculate leaflet and its 5-HT afferences in the chronobiological properties of 8-OH-DPAT and triazolam in syrian hamster

The 5-HT(1A/7) receptor agonist 8-hydroxy-2-[di-n-propylamino]-tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) has chronobiological effects on the circadian system and, in the Syrian hamster, it is known that serotonergic (5-HT) projections connecting the median raphe nucleus to the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus are a prerequisite for the expression of 8-OH-DPAT-induced phase advance of locomotor activity rhythm. We examined the possible involvement of the thalamic intergeniculate leaflet (IGL) in the phase-shifting properties of 8-OH-DPAT injections at CT7. Bilateral electrolytic lesions of the IGL blocked phase-shift responses to 8-OH-DPAT of the activity rhythm. Phase changes induced by injections of 8-OH-DPAT at CT7 and triazolam (Tz), a short-acting benzodiazepine, at CT6 were also studied after bilateral chemical lesion of the 5-HT fibres connecting the dorsal raphe nucleus (DR) to IGL. Destruction of 5-HT fibres within the IGL blocked the phase-shift response to Tz, but not the phase-shift response to 8-OH-DPAT. In conclusion, (a) IGL is essential for the phase-shifting effect of peripheral 8-OH-DPAT injections; (b) 5-HT fibres connecting DR to IGL are necessary for the expression of the phase-shifting effect of Tz but not of 8-OH-DPAT.

Organization of rat circadian rhythms during daily infusion of melatonin or S20098, a melatonin agonist

Daily administration of melatonin or S20098, a melatonin agonist, is known to entrain the free-running circadian rhythms of rats. The effects of the duration of administration on entrainment were studied. The animals demonstrated free-running circadian rhythms (running-wheel activity, body temperature, general activity) in constant darkness. Daily infusions of melatonin or S20098 for 1, 8, or 16 h entrained the circadian rhythms to 24 h. Two daily infusions of 1 h (separated by 8 h) entrained the activity peak within the shorter time interval. The entraining properties of melatonin and S20098 were similar and were affected neither by pinealectomy nor by infusion of 1- or 8-h duration. However, with 16-h infusion, less than half of the animals became entrained. Once entrained, the phase angle between the onset of infusion and the rhythms (onset of activity or acrophase of body temperature) increased with the duration of infusion. Before entrainment, the free-running period increased with the duration of infusion, an effect that was not predictable from the phase response curve.

Roles of suprachiasmatic nuclei and intergeniculate leaflets in mediating the phase-shifting effects of a serotonergic agonist and their photic modulation during subjective day

Serotonin (5-HT) has been implicated in the phase adjustment of the circadian system during the subjective day in response to nonphotic stimuli. Two components of the circadian system, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) (site of the circadian clock) and the intergeniculate leaflet (IGL), receive serotonergic projections from the median raphe nucleus and the dorsal raphe nucleus, respectively. Experiment 1, performed in golden hamsters housed in constant darkness, compared the effects of bilateral microinjections of the 5-HT1A/7 receptor agonist, 8-hydroxydipropylaminotetralin (8-OH-DPAT; 0.5 microgram in 0.2 microliter saline per side), into the IGL or the SCN during the mid-subjective day. Bilateral 8-OH-DPAT injections into either the SCN or the IGL led to significant phase advances of the circadian rhythm of wheel-running activity (p < .001). The phase advances following 8-OH-DPAT injections in the IGL were dose department (p < .001). Because a light pulse administered during the middle of the subjective day can attenuate the phase-resetting effect of a systemic injection of 8-OH-DPAT, Experiment 2 was designed to determine whether light could modulate 5-HT agonist activity at the level of the SCN and/or the IGL. Serotonergic receptor activation within the SCN, followed by a pulse of light (300 lux of white light lasting 30 min), still induced phase advances. In contrast, the effect of serotonergic stimulation within the IGL was blocked by a light pulse. These results indicate that the respective 5-HT projections to the SCN and IGL subserve different functions in the circadian responses to photic and nonphotic stimuli.

Fos-like immunoreactivity in the circadian timing system of calorie-restricted rats fed at dawn: daily rhythms and light pulse-induced changes

Daily rhythms of pineal melatonin, body temperature, and locomotor activity are synchronized to the light-dark cycle (LD) via a circadian clock located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). A timed caloric restriction in rats fed at dawn induces phase-advances and further phase-stabilization of these rhythms, suggesting that the circadian clock can integrate conflicting daily photic and non-photic cues. The present study investigated the daily expression of Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-ir) and light pulse-induced Fos-ir in the SCN, the intergeniculate leaflet (IGL) and the paraventricular thalamic nucleus (PVT) in calorie-restricted rats fed 2 h after the onset of light and in controls fed ad libitum. A daily rhythm of Fos-ir in the SCN was confirmed in control rats, with a peak approximately 2 h after lights on. At this time point (i.e. just prior to the feeding time), the level of SCN Fos-ir was lowered in calorie-restricted rats. Concomitantly, IGL Fos-ir was higher in calorie-restricted vs. control rats. In response to a light pulse during darkness, Fos-ir induction was found to be specifically (i.e. phase-dependently) lowered in the SCN and IGL of calorie-restricted rats. Observed changes of Fos-ir in the PVT were possibly related to the wake state of the animals. This study shows that repetitive non-photic cues presented in addition to a LD cycle affect the Fos expression in the circadian timing system.