HL271, a novel chemical compound derived from metformin, differs from metformin in its effects on the circadian clock and metabolism.

Metformin is a treatment of choice for patients with type 2 diabetes. Its action involves the phosphorylation of 5'-adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK), leading to inhibition of liver gluconeogenesis. The effects of a novel chemical compound derived from metformin, HL271, on molecular and physiological actions involving AMPK and rhythmically-expressed circadian clock genes were investigated. HL271 potently activated AMPK in a dose-dependent manner, and produced shortening of the circadian period and enhanced degradation of the clock genes PER2 and CRY1. Although the molecular effects of HL271 resembled those of metformin, it produced different physiological effects in mice with diet-induced obesity. HL271 did not elicit glucose-lowering or insulin-sensitizing effects, possibly because of altered regulation of glucose-6-phosphatase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1. This indicated that, although HL271 acted on circadian clock machinery through a similar molecular mechanism to metformin, it differed in its systemic effect on glucose and lipid metabolite regulations.

A Novel Bmal1 Mutant Mouse Reveals Essential Roles of the C-Terminal Domain on Circadian Rhythms.

The mammalian circadian clock is an endogenous biological timer comprised of transcriptional/translational feedback loops of clock genes. Bmal1 encodes an indispensable transcription factor for the generation of circadian rhythms. Here, we report a new circadian mutant mouse from gene-trapped embryonic stem cells harboring a C-terminus truncated Bmal1 (Bmal1GTΔC) allele. The homozygous mutant (Bmal1GTΔC/GTΔC) mice immediately lost circadian behavioral rhythms under constant darkness. The heterozygous (Bmal1+/GTΔC) mice displayed a gradual loss of rhythms, in contrast to Bmal1+/- mice where rhythms were sustained. Bmal1GTΔC/GTΔC mice also showed arrhythmic mRNA and protein expression in the SCN and liver. Lack of circadian reporter oscillation was also observed in cultured fibroblast cells, indicating that the arrhythmicity of Bmal1GTΔC/GTΔC mice resulted from impaired molecular clock machinery. Expression of clock genes exhibited distinct responses to the mutant allele in Bmal1+/GTΔC and Bmal1GTΔC/GTΔC mice. Despite normal cellular localization and heterodimerization with CLOCK, overexpressed BMAL1GTΔC was unable to activate transcription of Per1 promoter and BMAL1-dependent CLOCK degradation. These results indicate that the C-terminal region of Bmal1 has pivotal roles in the regulation of circadian rhythms and the Bmal1GTΔC mice constitute a novel model system to evaluate circadian functional mechanism of BMAL1.