The circadian clock regulates inflammatory arthritis-FASEB journal

New research from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology journal has described a gene protein that is created by our biological clock that represses inflammatory pathways within the limbs during the night.

The research focused on joint tissue cells which keep a 24 hour rhythm, called ‘fibroblast-like synoviocytes’, important cells in the pathology which underlies inflammatory arthritis.  In the study, these cells were harvested from healthy joint tissue in mice and/or humans and when researchers ‘knocked out’ a gene that disrupted the 24 hour rhythm, there was an increased inflammatory response.

This suggests that gene product, called the CRYPTOCHROME  (cry) protein, has significant anti-inflammatory effects during night time sleep, making inflammation symptoms, such as stiffness, seem worse when the affect wears off as you wake up.

For more information, sources please go to:http://dx.doi.org/10.1096/fj.201600353R