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. 2017 Apr 18;19(3):505-520.
doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.03.057.

miR-132/212 Modulates Seasonal Adaptation and Dendritic Morphology of the Central Circadian Clock

Lucia Mendoza-Viveros  1 , Cheng-Kang Chiang  2 , Jonathan L K Ong  3 , Sara Hegazi  1 , Arthur H Cheng  1 , Pascale Bouchard-Cannon  1 , Michael Fana  1 , Christopher Lowden  1 , Peng Zhang  3 , Béatrice Bothorel  4 , Matthew G Michniewicz  3 , Stephen T Magill  5 , Melissa M Holmes  6 , Richard H Goodman  5 , Valérie Simonneaux  4 , Daniel Figeys  7 , Hai-Ying M Cheng  8
Affiliations

miR-132/212 Modulates Seasonal Adaptation and Dendritic Morphology of the Central Circadian Clock

Lucia Mendoza-Viveros et al. Cell Rep. .

Abstract

The central circadian pacemaker, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), encodes day length information by mechanisms that are not well understood. Here, we report that genetic ablation of miR-132/212 alters entrainment to different day lengths and non-24 hr day-night cycles, as well as photoperiodic regulation of Period2 expression in the SCN. SCN neurons from miR-132/212-deficient mice have significantly reduced dendritic spine density, along with altered methyl CpG-binding protein (MeCP2) rhythms. In Syrian hamsters, a model seasonal rodent, day length regulates spine density on SCN neurons in a melatonin-independent manner, as well as expression of miR-132, miR-212, and their direct target, MeCP2. Genetic disruption of Mecp2 fully restores the level of dendritic spines of miR-132/212-deficient SCN neurons. Our results reveal that, by regulating the dendritic structure of SCN neurons through a MeCP2-dependent mechanism, miR-132/212 affects the capacity of the SCN to encode seasonal time.

Keywords: MeCP2; circadian rhythms; dendritic morphology; entrainment; miR-132/212; microRNA; seasonal timekeeping; spinogenesis; structural plasticity; suprachiasmatic nucleus.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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