Intrinsically Photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells (ipRGCs) Are Necessary for Light Entrainment of Peripheral Clocks.

ABSTRACT: Light is a powerful entrainer of circadian clocks in almost all eukaryotic organisms promoting synchronization of internal circadian rhythms with external environmental light-dark (LD) cycles. In mammals, the circadian system is organized in a hierarchical manner, in which a central pacemaker in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) synchronizes oscillators in peripheral tissues. Recent evidence demonstrates that photoentrainment of the SCN proceeds via signaling from a subpopulation of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) which are melanopsin-expressing and intrinsically photosensitive (ipRGCs). However, it is still unclear whether photoentrainment of peripheral clocks is mediated exclusively by the ipRGC system or if signaling from RGCs that do not express melanopsin also plays a role. Here we have

SUBMITTER: Kofuji P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5161485 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature