News Release

New cell models for tracking body clock gene function will help find novel meds

Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

PHILADELPHIA — The consequences of modern life -- shift work, cell phone addiction, and travel across time zones -- all disturb internal clocks. These are found in the brain where they regulate sleep and throughout the body where they regulate physiology and metabolism. Disrupting the clocks is called circadian misalignment, which has been linked to metabolic problems, even in healthy volunteers.

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Memphis describe in PLOS Genetics the development of new cell models that track and report clock gene function. These engineered cells can be used with inexpensive, off-the-shelf recording devices, making them suitable for small basic labs to large-scale pharmaceutical firms to screen candidate small molecules to help the body's clock function normally.

The team started with liver cells and fat cells because they govern the body's energy processing and storing system and genetically engineered them to flash light with a daily rhythm much like an alarm clock. They validated the cell models and showed that changing clock gene function in these cells is similar to what happens in mice lacking clock genes.

"The previous cellular models were great," says co-senior author John Hogenesch, Ph.D., professor of Pharmacology at Penn. "But these older cell models needed high-end imaging equipment that is out of reach for most labs and early-stage startups." By expanding the number of labs that can do these studies, these models could catalyze better understanding of peripheral clocks, as well as new genetic and chemical tools to improve their function.

"We are very excited about the prospect of using these more physiologically relevant cell-based models for gene and small molecule drug discoveries," says co-senior author Andrew Liu, from the University of Memphis.

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For more information, visit the University of Memphis FedEx Institute of Technology site summary.

Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 17 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $392 million awarded in the 2013 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; Chester County Hospital; Penn Wissahickon Hospice; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional affiliated inpatient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region include Chestnut Hill Hospital and Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2013, Penn Medicine provided $814 million to benefit our community.


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