Disruption of the Biological Clock Invites Diseases

Üsküdar University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Bioengineering Department Vice President Dr. Faculty Member Handan Emişoğlu Külahlı evaluated the biological clock and its importance.

Dr. Faculty Member Handan Emişoğlu Külahlı defined the biological clock as "the mechanism that enables organisms to control their daily rhythms, predict future changes and prepare them".

The biological clock, which is the mechanism that enables organisms to control their daily rhythms, predict future changes and prepare, regulates the daily, monthly and seasonal changes of many chemical processes. Experts said that disruption of the circadian clock is known to be associated with the development of many diseases such as cancer, diabetes, various metabolic and neurological diseases and sleep disorders.

The biological clock regulates the changes of many chemical processes

Emişoğlu Külahlı said that the biological clock regulates the daily, monthly and seasonal changes of many chemical processes.

Conical daily rhythms such as sleep; rhythmic changes in behavior or physiology such as blood pressure, temperature, metabolic rates, annual rhythms such as preparing for migration by eating plenty of food, preparing for winter by storing food, some living things being most active at dawn and dusk, and the fact that flowers bloom at certain times of the day is the internal clock of the organism, biological He said it was arranged by the clock.

It provides 24-hour order. Stating that the circadian clock is defined in almost all organisms, from bacteria to humans, Dr. Külahlı said, “The circadian clock provides a 24-hour order for processes at many levels, from gene expression to the behavior of the organism, and is an adaptation to the rotation of the earth.” made a statement.

The circadian clock splits into two

Expressing that the circadian clock in humans is divided into two parts, Külahlı said, "The central clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus and the peripheral clocks in almost every tissue and organ system." he said.

“The central clock accepts the light input from the retina in the eye, this information is converted into a chemical version, and the levels of clock genes are changed in specific neurons here, and synchronization is achieved by transmitting to peripheral organs and cells in other brain parts.” he said.

Brought the Nobel Prize

Stating that the circadian molecular clock in the cells that make up the central and peripheral clocks consists of a cyclical mechanism formed by the activation and suppression of the main clock genes (Clock, Bmal1, Period 1-3 and Cryptocrome1-3). Faculty Member Handan Emişoğlu Külahlı said, “This mechanism; It gives daily rhythmicity to many biochemical and physiological functions. The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine was awarded to three scientists who discovered the molecular mechanisms that control the circadian rhythm in fruit flies. Nobel laureate scientist Prof. Dr. Aziz Sancar, on the other hand, is a scientist who contributed significantly to this field with his studies on the clock regulation mechanism of the Cryptocrome gene and its relationship with DNA repair and cancer.” used the phrase.

Biological clock regulates some genes

Noting that the synchronization between the external environment and the clock causes many problems, Külahlı said, “One of them is jet-lag, which occurs because our body's internal clock has difficulty in adapting when we travel in more than one time zone. The circadian clock has the role of regulating some of the genes expressed in any cell.” he said.

Disruption of the biological clock can lead to health problems

Külahlı stated that it is known that the disruption of the circadian clock is associated with the development of many diseases such as cancer, diabetes, various metabolic and neurological diseases and sleep disorders. It showed too.” said.