ABSTRACT
Most organisms have developed circadian clocks to adapt to 24-hour cycles in the environment. These clocks have become crucial for modulating and synchronizing complex behavioral and biological processes. A number of parasites seem to have evolved to take advantage of their hosts' circadian rhythms to favor their own infection and survival. Some species, such as Microphallus sp. and Trypanosoma cruzi, can alter the patterns of locomotor behavior of infected intermediate hosts, which can promote transmission to a subsequent primary host. Some fungi of the genera Ophiocordyceps and Entomophthora, as well as hairworms (Nematomorpha), elicit complex behaviors that promote their host's death at a time and place that optimizes continuation of the parasite's life-cycle. At least in some cases, a proposed mechanism might involve a change in the expression of clock-controlled genes. Lastly, some disease-causing protozoan parasites of the genera Trypanosoma, Plasmodium, and Leishmania induce changes in the circadian rhythms of their primary hosts upon infection. Some of these changes may be attributed to circadian alterations resulting from the host's inflammatory response to the infection or other unexplored responses or adaptations to the illness. Thus, a distinction must be made between manipulation of the parasite and response of the host when studying these alterations in the future. Parasitic manipulation of circadian rhythms, which vastly modulates behavior and physiology, is an essential issue that has been relatively understudied. A deeper understanding of this phenomenon could lead to the development of novel therapeutic approaches for the diseases that these parasites convey.
ABSTRACT
Light at night is an emergent problem for modern society. Rodents exposed to light at night develop a loss of circadian rhythms, which leads to increased adiposity, altered immune response, and increased growth of tumors. In female rats, constant light (LL) eliminates the estrous cycle leading to a state of persistent estrus. The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) drives circadian rhythms, and it interacts with the neuroendocrine network necessary for reproductive function. Timed restricted feeding (RF) exerts a powerful entraining influence on the circadian system, and it can influence the SCN activity and can restore rhythmicity or accelerate re-entrainment in experimental conditions of shift work or jet lag. The present study explored RF in female rats exposed to LL, with the hypothesis that this cyclic condition can rescue or prevent the loss of daily rhythms and benefit the expression of the estrous cycle. Two different feeding schedules were explored: 1. A 12-h food/12-h fasting schedule applied to arrhythmic rats after 3 weeks in LL, visualized as a rescue strategy (LL + RFR, 3 weeks), or applied simultaneously with the first day of LL as a preventive strategy (LL + RFP, 6 weeks). 2. A 12-h window of food intake with food given in four distributed pulses (every 3 h), applied after 3 weeks in LL, as a rescue strategy (LL + PR, 3 weeks) or applied simultaneously with the first day of LL as a preventive strategy (LL + PP, 6 weeks). Here, we present evidence that scheduled feeding can drive daily rhythms of activity and temperature in rats exposed to LL. However, the protocol of distributed feeding pulses was more efficient to restore the day-night activity and core temperature as well as the c-Fos day-night change in the SCN. Likewise, the distributed feeding partially restored the estrous cycle and the ovary morphology under LL condition. Data here provided indicate that the 12-h feeding/12-h fasting window determines the rest-activity cycle and can benefit directly the circadian and reproductive function. Moreover, this effect is stronger when food is distributed along the 12 h of subjective night.
