蜜蜂生物节律研究进展

 生物节律主要指有机体生命活动的内在节律性。蜜蜂生物节律受到其社会性的影响,从而参与许多复杂行为的调控。与果蝇相比,蜜蜂的生物节律与哺乳动物更相似。工蜂和蜂王的生物节律表现出高度的可塑性。例如,工蜂的昼夜节律受其劳动分工形式的调控,并通过与幼蜂的直接接触来调节,哺育蜂昼夜照料幼虫,在行为或时钟基因表达方面没有昼夜节律变化。从蜜蜂的社会性、蜜蜂生物节律产生的分子机制、神经基础、研究方法、可塑性、蜜蜂的睡眠等方面综述了蜜蜂生物节律的研究进展。     

科学家揭示维持生物钟正常工作新机制

生物节律是以生命活动24h为周期的内在周期性节律。早在世界上第一个单细胞生物出现以前,地球已经自转了大约20亿年,为了适应这种昼夜环境周期性的变化,地球上的许多生物体内发育分化出一个特殊系统——生物钟,用以协调各种不同组织与器官的昼夜节律。为了了解生物钟基因的作用,科学家们进行了大量的研究工作。最近,中国南京大学医学院和美国加州大学的科研人员通过构建单突变和双突变小鼠,进行了遗     

封面图片说明:诺贝尔奖激励自然探秘,促进科学突破

 2016年10月3日,日本科学家大隅良典因发现细胞自噬机制获得诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。2016年10月4日,美国科学家戴维·索利斯、邓肯·霍尔丹和迈克尔·科斯德里茨,因发现了物质的拓扑相变和拓扑相而获得诺贝尔物理学奖。2016年10月5日,让-皮埃尔·索维奇、J.弗雷泽·斯托达特、伯纳德·L·费林加,因在分子机器的设计和合成领域取得的成就而获得了诺贝尔化学奖。     

多因素塑造的生物钟系统

 生理和行为的昼夜节律受到一种内源性的计时机制的管控--生物钟,外界环境中光线和黑暗的交替,使这些节律符合自然界的昼夜循环并与之同步（图1）。对于动物的生理节奏系统,人们已在分子、细胞、组织和器官水平上具有一定的认识,现在正从整体上理解这些不同层次的水平如何影响生物钟的特征和复杂性。     

生物钟的量子生物学分析

根据Moore-Ede and R.Lydic等报告:生物钟就是下丘脑中的二串神经细胞。以及HTS、脑生物钟区域受到损伤和病变会出现生物节律失常。本文提出脑生物钟的生物物理模型如下:脑生物钟是位于充满生物液的第三脑室由二串神经细胞组成的巨系统,每一子系统的神经细胞处于规则排列的势阱与势垒相间的某种耗散状态中,势阱里的生物活性物质是各种亚细胞器和细胞质的生物大分子凝聚态;因而从分子生物学的观点看来,巨系统、子系统和亚细胞器都是遵守量子生物学规律的生物组织。写出巨系统的有效哈密顿算符,解生物钟的量子生物学方程——即生物钟里公有化电子的薛定格方程。在一次近似与二次近似下获得了生物钟子系统的能级公式和生物钟里一串神经原的载波和轨道波函数。而且在二次近似下,载波的振幅与编序位置(N+μ)处外界输入脑生物钟的信号有关,因此,生物钟子系统上的载波比固有载波复杂得多,而且出现电子的能级分裂。构成生命组织的生物大分子凝聚成的量子态不是量子力学的基态,起因于生命物质的有序结构有多级量子生物力学规律性。使生命物质处于由开放系统的内部和外部相互作用所制约的激发态。     

人体生物节律在运动、锻炼和竞赛中的应用

一、人体生物节律的概念人体多种机能活动呈节律性变化,这在古代就为人们所发现。但大量的科学化的研究,还是近几十年的事情。研究发现,人的各种生理活动,如心率、呼吸、体温、内分泌、物质代谢、体力和精力等,均有周期性变化。周期可表现为年、月、日等。最明显的是昼夜节律变化。人体生理活动的节律性变化是在长期的进化过程中,为了生存而与自然环境逐渐适应的结果。研究表明节律性变化是由机体内部的某种定时装置的驱动,引起相应系统的机能变化,遂以外界的节律性变化同步。这种定时装置即所谓的“生物钟”。很多学者认为,生物钟在体内不…     

国际资讯

<正>01我国科学家发现生物钟紊乱原理随着时代的发展与科技的进步,社会竞争和工作压力与日俱增,全球大约1/3的人存在节律紊乱问题。近日,我国科学家的“生物钟”研究取得重大突破,揭示出“有形”生物钟的存在及其节律调控机制。研究发现,大脑视交叉上核(SCN)神经元的初级纤毛每24小时伸缩一次,如生物钟的指针,通过它可实现对机体节律的调整和时差的调节。     

松果腺与生物钟

什么叫生物钟? 观察自然界里生命活动,就会发现整个自然界的生物奇趣盎然,周而复始地呈现出千姿百态的美景,严格地按时间节律活动着。从最简单的单细胞藻类,到各种高等动物的生命活动都有惊人的计时本领。黎明,公鸡报晓;傍晚,蝙蝠横飞;山村入暮,猫头鹰磔磔呼鸣。植物的生活也是有时间节律的。花生的叶子迎着朝霞开放,随着夜暮降临而闭合。人的体温、呼吸、脉搏、血糖含     

生命的低氧适应——2019年度诺贝尔生理学或医学奖成果解析

 氧的利用和调节是高等生命赖以生存的基本条件，威廉·凯林、彼得·拉特克利夫和格雷格·塞门扎3位科学家因发现细胞感知和适应氧气供应的相关机制而获得了2019年度诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。他们发现低氧诱导因子1（hypoxia-inducible factors 1，HIF-1）广泛存在于急、慢性缺氧细胞中，是细胞适应低氧的重要转录因子。HIF-1水平受氧气含量的调节。高氧条件下，HIF-1被修饰进而降解；低氧条件下，HIF-1不被降解，并通过转录调节引起促红细胞生成素等低氧相关基因的表达。本文通过介绍HIF-1的发现和基本分子机制，探讨其在临床中的应用价值。     

DNA损伤修复研究的新进展及其重要意义

1953年沃森（Wotson）和克里克（Crick）提出DNA结构的双螺旋模型,使人类对生命遗传和变异的认识发生了质的飞跃。人们进而试图从分子水平上准确无误地复制出与母本完全一致的子代DNA双链。然而,DNA复制的精确性也是相对的。由于种种原因,任何生物的DNA在复制过程中其碱基都     

Diurnal modulation of pacemaker potentials and calcium current in the mammalian circadian clock

The central biological clock of the mammalian brain is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. This hypothalamic region contains neurons that generate a circadian rhythm on a single-cell basis. Clock cells transmit their circadian timing signals to other brain areas by diurnal modulation of their spontaneous firing rate. The intracellular mechanism underlying rhythm generation is thought to consist of one or more self-regulating molecular loops, but it is unknown how these loops interact with the plasma membrane to modulate the ionic conductances that regulate firing behaviour. Here we demonstrate a diurnal modulation of Ca2+ current in suprachiasmatic neurons. This current strongly contributes to the generation of spontaneous oscillations in membrane potential, which occur selectively during daytime and are tightly coupled to spike generation. Thus, day-night modulation of Ca2+ current is a central step in transducing the intracellular cycling of molecular clocks to the rhythm in spontaneous firing rate.     

Stimulated activity mediates phase shifts in the hamster circadian clock induced by dark pulses or benzodiazepines

A number of environmental and pharmacological stimuli capable of inducing phase shifts and/or period changes in the circadian clock of mammals have now been identified. Agents that can alter circadian clocks provide a means for investigating the cellular and neural mechanisms responsible for their generation, regulation and entrainment. Two stimuli that have been used to probe the basis of circadian rhythmicity are pulses of darkness on a background of constant light and injections of short-acting benzodiazepines, such as triazolam. Surprisingly, these two very different stimuli have remarkably similar phase-shifting effects on the circadian clock of hamsters. The observation that a short-term increase in locomotor activity occurs when the circadian activity rhythm of hamsters is shifted by dark pulses or triazolam injections, coupled with the finding that activity bouts themselves are capable of shifting this rhythm, raises the possibility that dark pulses or triazolam alter the circadian clock by inducing acute hyperactivity. Here we demonstrate that the phase-advancing and phase-delaying effects of dark pulses or triazolam on the circadian activity rhythm can be totally suppressed by immobilization of the animals during treatment. These results indicate that behavioural events mediate the phase-shifting effects of both dark pulses and triazolam on the circadian activity rhythm and question present hypotheses regarding the pathways by which light-dark information and pharmacological agents influence circadian pacemakers.     

Functional consequences of a CKIdelta mutation causing familial advanced sleep phase syndrome

Familial advanced sleep phase syndrome (FASPS) is a human behavioural phenotype characterized by early sleep times and early-morning awakening. It was the first human, mendelian circadian rhythm variant to be well-characterized, and was shown to result from a mutation in a phosphorylation site within the casein kinase I (CKI)-binding domain of the human PER2 gene. To gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of circadian rhythm regulation in humans, we set out to identify mutations in human subjects leading to FASPS. We report here the identification of a missense mutation (T44A) in the human CKIdelta gene, which results in FASPS. This mutant kinase has decreased enzymatic activity in vitro. Transgenic Drosophila carrying the human CKIdelta-T44A gene showed a phenotype with lengthened circadian period. In contrast, transgenic mice carrying the same mutation have a shorter circadian period, a phenotype mimicking human FASPS. These results show that CKIdelta is a central component in the mammalian clock, and suggest that mammalian and fly clocks might have different regulatory mechanisms despite the highly conserved nature of their individual components.     

A benzodiazepine used in the treatment of insomnia phase-shifts the mammalian circadian clock

Between 5 and 20% of the adult population in Western countries suffer from insufficient and/or unsatisfying sleep, often associated with certain psychiatric disorders or with certain types of professional activities (for example, shift workers) and travel schedules (for example, jet lag). The benzodiazepines are at present the drug treatment of choice for the management of anxiety and stress-related conditions as well as insomnia. Benzodiazepines are thought to act by potentiating the action of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a widely distributed transmitter in the central nervous system. The circadian system has a key role in the regulation of the sleep-wake cycle, and at least some forms of insomnia may be the result of a disorder of the circadian sleep-wake rhythm. Similarly, at least some forms of depression may also involve disruption of normal circadian rhythmicity. A central pacemaker for the generation of many circadian rhythms in mammals, including the sleep-wake cycle, appears to be located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and recent research indicates that both cell bodies and axons containing GABA are present within the bilaterally paired suprachiasmatic nuclei. These findings raise the possibility that the benzodiazepines, commonly prescribed for sleep and mental disorders, may have an effect on the central circadian pacemaker. Here we report that the acute administration of triazolam, a short-acting benzodiazepine commonly prescribed for the treatment of insomnia, induces a phase-shift in the circadian rhythm of locomotor activity in golden hamsters. This suggests a role for GABA-containing neurones in the mammalian circadian system.     

Research Progress on the Relationship among Circadian Rhythm,Melatonin and Aging

It is generally believed that aging is a gradual decline in the efficiency of our biological metabolism, which eventually leads to the deterioration of individual physiological function and the development of a series of age-related degenerative diseases.The circadian clock machinery orchestrates the normal metabolism of the organism in order to assure that individual growth,development and reproduction are adapted to the changes of diurnal environmental variations. The circadian rhythm in the elderly is attenuated with age and is accompanied by the onset of metabolic syndrome, the accumulation of genomic or epigenomic instability, the decline of metabolic tissue homeostasis and the change of natural feeding behavior. Existing results corroborate that light at night(LAN) and melatonin inhibition affect genomic integrity and normal metabolic function. In several animal models,LAN accelerated aging by inhibiting melatonin production in the pineal gland and promoting age-related carcinogenesis. This paper reviews the effects of the circadian rhythm on aging and discusses the complex relationship among circadian rhythms, melatonin and aging in different models of organisms, which may provide clues for prolonging human life and maintaining health.     

A circadian oscillator in cultured cells of chicken pineal gland

The activity of serotonin N-acetyltransferase, the key enzyme of melatonin synthesis, shows a marked circadian rhythm in the pineal glands of various animal species. The regulation mechanism of the N-acetyltransferse rhythm in birds is different from that in mammals. N-Acetyltransferase activity in rat pineal gland is controlled by the central nervous system through the sympathetic nerves from the superior cervical ganglion, while in chicken the endogenous oscillator for N-acetyltransferase rhythm is presumably located in the pineal gland. Recently it has been shown that N-acetyltransferase activity oscillates in a circadian manner in the organ culture of chicken pineal glands. When chicken pineal glands were organ-cultured under continuous illumination, the nocturnal increase of enzyme activity was suppressed. These observations suggested that chicken pineal gland contains a circadian oscillator, a photoreceptor and melatonin-synthesising machinery. A central question arises whether the circadian oscillation of N-acetyltransferase activity and its response to environmental lighting are generated within the cell or are emergent properties of interaction between different types of pineal cells. I report here that in the dispersed cell culture of chicken pineal gland, N-acetyltransferase activity exhibits a circadian rhythm and responds to environmental lighting in the same manner as in the organ culture.     

Independence of the circadian rhythm in alertness from the sleep/wake cycle

It is common knowledge that our feelings of alertness or drowsiness vary throughout the day. Indeed, this diurnal variation is so widely accepted that it has been used to validate the drowsy/alert component of activation obtained from mood adjective checklists. There is, however, some evidence from sleep deprivation and shiftwork studies that this variation is not simply a reflection of our sleep/wake cycle, as might be expected, but is at least partially dependent on an endogenous circadian (approximately 24 h) oscillator such as that proposed to account for the circadian rhythm in body temperature and other physiological variables. Here we have tested this suggestion by separating the body-temperature rhythm from the sleep/wake cycle by progressively shortening artificial time cues (zeitgebers). Our results indicate that the circadian rhythm in alertness can become independent of both the sleep/wake cycle and the rhythm in body temperature. Further, and contrary to our expectations, the results suggest that the sleep/wake cycle exerts less influence on the alertness rhythm than it does on that of temperature.     

Melanopsin and rod-cone photoreceptive systems account for all major accessory visual functions in mice

In the mammalian retina, besides the conventional rod-cone system, a melanopsin-associated photoreceptive system exists that conveys photic information for accessory visual functions such as pupillary light reflex and circadian photo-entrainment. On ablation of the melanopsin gene, retinal ganglion cells that normally express melanopsin are no longer intrinsically photosensitive. Furthermore, pupil reflex, light-induced phase delays of the circadian clock and period lengthening of the circadian rhythm in constant light are all partially impaired. Here, we investigated whether additional photoreceptive systems participate in these responses. Using mice lacking rods and cones, we measured the action spectrum for phase-shifting the circadian rhythm of locomotor behaviour. This spectrum matches that for the pupillary light reflex in mice of the same genotype, and that for the intrinsic photosensitivity of the melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells. We have also generated mice lacking melanopsin coupled with disabled rod and cone phototransduction mechanisms. These animals have an intact retina but fail to show any significant pupil reflex, to entrain to light/dark cycles, and to show any masking response to light. Thus, the rod-cone and melanopsin systems together seem to provide all of the photic input for these accessory visual functions.     

谷氨酸、生物节律与运动

生物节律是指生物在自然选择、长期进化过程中保存下来的适应性表象。谷氨酸(Glu)是中枢神经系统(CNS)中主要的兴奋性氨基酸类神经递质,已经证实谷氨酸含量有近似昼夜节律现象,同时谷氨酸在调节人体生物节律的过程中扮演重要角色。最近的研究发现,择时运动对谷氨酸的含量及近似昼夜节律会产生明显影响,对运动队异地训练和比赛时快速地调整时差、延缓疲劳有重要意义。