title: Paternal irradiation perturbs the expression of circadian genes in offspring.
abstract: The circadian system represents a complex network which influences the timing of many biological processes. Recent studies have established that circadian alterations play an important role in the susceptibility to many human diseases, including cancer. Here we report that paternal irradiation in mice significantly affects the expression of genes involved in rhythmic processes in their first-generation offspring. Using microarrays, the patterns of gene expression were established for brain, kidney, liver and spleen samples from the non-exposed offspring of irradiated CBA/Ca and BALB/c male mice. The most over-represented categories among the genes differentially expressed in the offspring of control and irradiated males were those involved in rhythmic process, circadian rhythm and DNA-dependent regulation of transcription. The results of our study therefore provide a plausible explanation for the transgenerational effects of paternal irradiation, including increased transgenerational carcinogenesis described in other studies.
authors: Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, United Kingdom.
authors: Andre M G F
authors: AM
authors: Gomes
authors: Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, United Kingdom.
authors: Ruth C
authors: RC
authors: Barber
authors: Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, United Kingdom. Electronic address: yed2@le.ac.uk.
authors: Yuri E
authors: YE
authors: Dubrova
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000528:radiation effects*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000528:radiation effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D018812:Paternal Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000528:radiation effects*; D014965:X-Rays / Q000009:adverse effects
keywords: Circadian system; Gene expression; Microarrays; Radiation; Transgenerational instability