Differential resetting process of circadian gene expression in rat pineal glands after the reversal of the light/dark cycle via a 24 h light or dark period transition.

Although studies involving the circadian response to time-zone transitions indicate that the circadian clock usually takes much longer to phase advance than delay, the discrepancy between the circadian resetting induced by photoperiod alteration via a dark or light period transition has yet to be investigated. In mammals, the pineal gland is an important component in the photoneuroendocrine axis, regulating biological rhythms. However, few studies have systematically examined the resetting process of pineal clock-gene expression to date. We investigated the resetting processes of four clock genes (Bmal1, Cry1, Per1, Dec1) and AANAT in the rat pineal gland after the light-dark (LD) reversal via a 24 h light or dark period transition. The resynchronization of the SCN-driven gene AANAT was nearly complete in three days in both situations, displaying similar resetting rates and processes after the differential LD reversals. The resetting processes of the clock genes were characterized by gene-specific, phase-shift modes and differential phase-shift rates between the two different LD reversal modes. The resetting processes of these clock genes were noticeably lengthened after the LD reversal via the light period transition in comparison to via the dark period transition. In addition, among the four examined clock genes, Per1 adjusted most rapidly after the differential LD reversals, while the rhythmic Cry1 expression adjusted most slowly.