Welcome to the Dierickx Lab for Circadian Regulation of Cardiometabolism
Circadian rhythms coordinate many different aspects of behavior and physiology (e.g., fasting/feeding cycles, body temperature and metabolism). The Dierickx lab is interested in the molecular mechanisms of the circadian clock driving rhythmic metabolic processes in the heart. We try to understand how deregulated clocks are leading to cardiovascular defects and are trying to target the circadian clock in order to treat and prevent heart diseases.
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13Latest News
Bryce’s paper on circadian reprogramming during cardiac aging is out!
We are very happy to share the publication of our latest research article: https://lnkd.in/dukqDRQV in Communications Biology.
We found that with aging, NAD+ levels drop in the heart. Concomitantly diurnal rhythms are reprogrammed during aging, which we could partially prevent by long-term treatment with NR, and NAD precursor. This long-term treatment also prevented naturally occurring cardiac enlargement with aging. Interestingly we found that with aging it’s not so much core clock gene expression that is affected, but PER2 protein oscillations. In addition, we found that part of the NR-response genes were SIRT1-dependent. These findings shed light on how the circadian clock in the heart is rewired with aging and how cardiac metabolism is interlinked with the circadian clock during aging. Hopefully this will help to pave the way for chronotherapy-based strategies to prevent and treat aging-related cardiac disorders.
Major congratulations to first author Bryce Carpenter and all lab members involved for their hard work. I feel blessed with such a great team and am very proud of their tenacity and accomplishments. Onwards and upwards!