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Circadian rhythms

A father's influence

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 8, pages 813–814 (2007)Cite this article

MAGEL2 is one of a cluster of paternally expressed genes, the loss of which underlies Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), which is characterized by obesity, sleep disorders, hyperphagia and hypogonadism. The authors set out to understand how loss of MAGEL2 contributes to the PWS phenotype.

They showed that, in the mouse brain, most MAGEL2-containing cells are found in the hypothalamus. High levels of Magel2 expression were observed in neurons in the dorsal suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) that convey circadian pacemaking signals to peripheral tissues. Magel2 expression in the SCN fluctuated rhythmically, peaking during dark periods when the mice were most active.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Kozlov, S. V. et al. The imprinted gene Magel2 regulates normal circadian output. Nature Genet. 23 Sep 2007 (doi:10.1038/ng2114)

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FURTHER READING

  1. Wilkinson, L. et al. Genomic imprinting effects on brain development and function. Nature Rev. Neurosci. 10 Oct 2007 (doi:10.1038/nrn2235)

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Authors
  1. Katherine Whalley
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Whalley, K. A father's influence. Nat Rev Neurosci 8, 813–814 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2262

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2262

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