PER3P1 pseudogene modulates PER3 oscillation: a new player in the molecular clock network

ABSTRACT

The circadian clock allows the body to coordinate physiology with the light and dark cycles of the day. One of the critical components of the molecular clock machinery is the PER family of circadian clock genes, including PER1, PER2, and PER3. The PER3P1 (or PER4) is the only molecular clock-related pseudogene that has been derived from the PER3 gene. Pseudogenes have an essential role in the regulation of gene expression. In this study, we investigated the PER3P1 fluctuations and their effects on the PER3 expression level. We hypothesized that the PER3P1 pseudogene suppresses clock-related miRNAs and positively affects clock genes levels. The results showed that PER3P1 and its parent gene had a corresponding oscillatory expression pattern. The overexpression of PER3P1 increased the mRNA level of PER3. In contrast, the downregulation of PER3 decreased PER3P1 expression. Furthermore, PER3P1 modulates the expression level of other clock genes, including PER1, PER2, CRY1, and CRY2. Our results suggest that the PER3P1 pseudogene may positively affect the PER3 and other clock-related gene expressions.

KEYWORDS:

• Circadian clock
• pseudogene
• PER3
• PER3P1

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Golestan University of Medical Sciences (Gorgan, Iran) under the grant number of 97060695 and the ethics code of IR.GOUMS.REC.1397.013. The data presented in this study are results of an MSc thesis. The study sponsor had no role in the design of the study; the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or the writing of the report.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contributions

M.G., T.F.; Contributed to conception and design. P.N.H.; Contributed to all experimental work, data and statistical analysis, and interpretation of data. M.G.; Were responsible for overall supervision. P.N.H.; Drafted the manuscript, which was revised by M.G. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Data availability statement

No dataset was generated or analyzed during this study. Data sharing is not applicable.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the [Golestan University of Medical Sciences] under Grant [97060695].