Chronic circadian misalignment accelerates immune senescence and abbreviates lifespan in mice

Sci Rep. 2020 Feb 13;10(1):2569. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-59541-y.

Abstract

Modern society characterized by a 24/7 lifestyle leads to misalignment between environmental cycles and endogenous circadian rhythms. Persisting circadian misalignment leads to deleterious effects on health and healthspan. However, the underlying mechanism remains not fully understood. Here, we subjected adult, wild-type mice to distinct chronic jet-lag paradigms, which showed that long-term circadian misalignment induced significant early mortality. Non-biased RNA sequencing analysis using liver and kidney showed marked activation of gene regulatory pathways associated with the immune system and immune disease in both organs. In accordance, we observed enhanced steatohepatitis with infiltration of inflammatory cells. The investigation of senescence-associated immune cell subsets from the spleens and mesenteric lymph nodes revealed an increase in PD-1+CD44high CD4 T cells as well as CD95+GL7+ germinal center B cells, indicating that the long-term circadian misalignment exacerbates immune senescence and consequent chronic inflammation. Our results underscore immune homeostasis as a pivotal interventional target against clock-related disorders.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • B-Lymphocytes / immunology
  • B-Lymphocytes / pathology
  • Cellular Senescence / genetics
  • Cellular Senescence / immunology*
  • Circadian Rhythm / genetics
  • Circadian Rhythm / immunology*
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Humans
  • Hyaluronan Receptors / genetics
  • Hyaluronan Receptors / immunology
  • Inflammation / immunology
  • Inflammation / physiopathology
  • Jet Lag Syndrome / immunology*
  • Jet Lag Syndrome / physiopathology
  • Longevity / genetics
  • Longevity / immunology*
  • Mice
  • Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor / genetics
  • Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor / immunology
  • Sequence Analysis, RNA
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology
  • T-Lymphocytes / pathology

Substances

  • Hyaluronan Receptors
  • Pdcd1 protein, mouse
  • Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor