Science Advances: What happens if your circadian rhythm isn't normal?

A new paper led by a researcher at the Wilmot Cancer Institute at the University of Rochester and the Scripps Research Institute in California says scientists have found an important molecular link
between lung cancer growth and circadian rhythm disturbances.

The circadian rhythm, sometimes referred to as the "biological clock," is a cellular process
that controls the sleep-wake cycle.
The World Health Organization has declared circadian rhythm disturbances to be a possible carcinogen.

New research, published in the high-impact journal Science Advances, says a cancer-marking gene called HSF1 can trigger lung tumors
when the circadian clock goes off track.
The lungs are tightly controlled by circadian rhythms and appear to be particularly vulnerable to circadian clock
disturbances.

The paper describes the role of HSF1 signaling in mouse models, a previously unknown mechanism that may explain tumor formation
caused by rhythm disruption.

The findings also suggest that it is possible to target HSF1 with drug therapy to prevent cancer
in people with frequent circadian rhythm disturbances.

Although the study was conducted in mice, other data link circadian rhythm disturbances to human tumors, said co-author Brian Altman, Ph.
D.
, an assistant professor of biomedical genetics at the University of Rochester Medical Center and a faculty member
at Wilmot University.

"Everything points in the same direction," he said
.
In this case, he notes, for example, when the mice's biological clock was disrupted by inconsistent sleep, the results were highly correlated
with people working night shifts or rotating jobs.

Ultraman's main contribution to this research is to provide scientific methodological expertise
in evaluating the behavior of the circadian clock in tissues.
The Scripps team contacted Altman after seeing a demonstration of the use of the technology at a scientific conference, hoping to collaborate
with him.
The technology was invented in 2018 by Dr.
Jacob Huey at Vanderbilt University
.
Ultraman and his lab have focused on circadian rhythms and their links
to cancer for years.

The study's lead author is Katja Lamia, Ph.
D.
, associate professor of
molecular medicine at Scripps University.
Scripps' press release is here
.
Funding is provided
by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.