Posttranslational and epigenetic regulation of the CLOCK/BMAL1 complex in the mammalian

Abstract

Most living organisms synchronize their physiological and behavioral activities with the daily changes in the environment using intrinsic time-keeping systems called circadian clocks. In mammals, the key molecular features of the internal clock are transcription- and translational-based negative feedback loops, in which clock-specific transcription factors activate the periodic expression of their own repressors, thereby generating the circadian rhythms. CLOCK and BMAL1, the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH)/PAS transcription factors, constitute the positive limb of the molecular clock oscillator. Recent investigations have shown that various levels of posttranslational regulation work in concert with CLOCK/BMAL1 in mediating circadian and cellular stimuli to control and reset the circadian rhythmicity. Here we review how the CLOCK and BMAL1 activities are regulated by intracellular distribution, posttranslational modification, and the recruitment of various epigenetic regulators in response to circadian and cellular signaling pathways. © 2012 Copyright Korean Society for Integrative Biology.