Astrocytic insulin receptor controls circadian behavior via dopamine signaling in a sexually dimorphic manner.

ABSTRACT: Mammalian circadian clocks respond to feeding and light cues, adjusting internal rhythms with day/night cycles. Astrocytes serve as circadian timekeepers, driving daily physiological rhythms; however, it's unknown how they ensure precise cycle-to-cycle rhythmicity. This is critical for understanding why mistimed or erratic feeding, as in shift work, disrupts circadian physiology- a condition linked to type 2 diabetes and obesity. Here, we show that astrocytic insulin signaling sets the free-running period of locomotor activity in female mice and food entrainment in male mice. Additionally, ablating the insulin receptor in hypothalamic astrocytes alters cyclic energy homeostasis differently in male and female mice. Remarkably, the mutants exhibit altered dopamine metabolism, and the pharmac

SUBMITTER: Gonzalez-Vila A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10710518 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature