Disturbances in the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness disrupt the processes taking place in the cell and contribute to diseases associated with the chronic inflammatory process, informs the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Scientists have known for a long time that people working night shifts are more likely to suffer from obesity, diabetes or cancer. Now the team of prof. Indera Vermy from the Salk Institute (USA), measuring the expression of inflammatory mediators in the hypothalamus of mice, found a probable molecular mechanism of the relationship between disturbances in the circadian rhythm and increased inflammatory reactions.
It turned out that the absence of cryptochrome (CRY) crucial for the biological clock leads to the activation of a signaling system that increases the level of inflammatory substances in the body (cytokines). It is especially interleukin 6 and TNF-alpha. As a result, a chronic, mild inflammatory process appears.
Cryptochrome slows down our biological clock every evening and stops inhibiting it every morning. Its absence activates the NF-kB pathway, which controls many genes involved in the inflammatory process. NF-kB is a complex of proteins in the cytoplasm of the cell that usually remain idle. In response to stimulation, it travels to the nucleus of the cell, where it stimulates inflammation genes. Each such activation leaves a mark, which over time can lead to the development of the disease.
Previous studies have shown that inhibition of Nf-kB activity may be an effective treatment for certain pathologies. The activity of this factor is increased, for example, in the cells of a cancer called multiple myeloma (PAP).
pmw / agt /