Synchronizing the circadian clock is key to preventing premature aging

In our body A biological clock set They allow us to anticipate changes occurring in the environment and are responsible for the harmonious organization of various physiological processes. It is these clocks that cause, for example, that we feel sleepy at night or that the entire digestive system prepares to digest food when we eat.

In this mechanism, the central clock is located in the hypothalamus and connected directly to the retina -through which it receives information about the light-dark cycle- which interacts and synchronizes with peripheral tissue clocks to trigger various functions.

This synchronization between central circadian clock and peripheral clocks are essential for the functioning of various tissues and play a key role in the body, since their disruption is associated with premature muscle aging. This is evidenced by studies on mice led by Salvador Aznar BenitaICREA researcher at the Barcelona Research Institute (IRB) and Pura Muñoz-Canovesresearcher from Pompeu Fabra University, recently joined Altos Labs (San Diego, USA).

The study focused on examining the connection between central and peripheral circadian clocks in two tissues: skin and muscle. And in both cases he showed that Coordination between clocks is essential to maintain optimal tissue functionality.. Details of the work were simultaneously published in magazines. The science And Cell Stem cell.

In the case of muscle, the team previously showed that mice genetically engineered to lack the Bmal1 gene, which is involved in communication between the central and peripheral circadian clocks, showed premature aging and increased muscle weakness.

In a new experiment designed to restore the action of Bmal1 at the whim of the researchers, the results showed that restoring communication between the clocks allowed slow down premature muscle aging such as loss of muscle mass in the mice studied, suggesting that this relationship is necessary to maintain adequate tissue functionality.

In previous studies, scientists have also shown that the peripheral clock has a certain autonomy, so it is able to control about 15% of circadian functions, the most basic ones, even when communication with the central clock fails.

“The fact that our entire body is not completely interconnected and that the skin continues to create a barrier or the liver is able to metabolize glucose autonomously, without the need for communication with a central clock, makes sense from an evolutionary point of view. But this only happens with the most basic functions,” says the researcher.

“Now we have seen that by reconnecting the synchronization of the central clock with the peripheral clocks so that they go hand in hand, we get 35% more featuresboth in the muscles and in the skin,” emphasizes Aznar Benita. the muscles of an older person were more like those of a middle-aged person,” he adds.

The discovery, the researcher continues, opens the door to developing treatments for muscle aging.

In this sense, they explored the role that interventions such as temporary food restriction might play in preliminary experiments on mice. “We know that certain dietary interventions have powerful anti-aging effects, and we wanted to analyze their effect.” According to their data, temporary food restriction can partially replace the role of the central clock, as well as increase the autonomy of the peripheral clock.

“The ideal would be to develop strategies to mimic these mechanisms,” says Aznar Benita.

In any case, the researcher emphasizes, preventing circadian rhythm disturbances is necessary to maintain good health, not accelerate aging.