Chronic alcohol consumption lowers the expression of the biological clock genes responsible for the circadian rhythm of our body, reported Taiwanese scientists in the journal Clinical & Experimental Research.
The circadian rhythm is regulated by the so-called biological clock genes, and previous animal studies have indicated that alcohol dependence and chronic drinking may alter the expression of these genes. In their latest work, scientists from the Medical University of Taipei have shown that in alcohol-dependent patients, the level of mRNA, or ribonucleic acid, from which the proteins of the biological clock are formed, is significantly reduced, indicating a relationship between disturbances of the circadian rhythm and alcoholism in humans.
Our body’s daily biological rhythm is governed by its physiology – processes such as body temperature, hormone release, and the sleep-wake cycle (). It is a rhythm that expresses the body’s internal clock, driven by the expression of relevant genes, the authors explain. Proper expression and regulation of these genes ensures that the body programs its physiological activity and survives it properly. Alcohol dependence is associated with disturbances in biological rhythms, including sleep problems and mood changes, they add.
Previous research has shown that alcohol can directly interfere with the transmission of information in the brain, which in turn can affect the activity of the body’s biological clock genes and the rhythmicity of the body.
Sy-Jye Leu and her team tested blood samples from 22 men – alcoholics and 12 healthy men as a control group. It turned out that alcoholics had significantly reduced mRNA levels of the biological clock genes, indicating that chronic alcohol consumption interferes with the normal expression of these genes. These types of disorders are associated with physiological problems such as dysregulation of the sleep-wake cycle, depression and even cancer.
Importantly, scientists have shown that biological clock gene expression does not return to normal even after the early stages of alcoholism treatment, indicating that alcohol’s damaging effects are long-lasting. (PAP)