Tuned by time: the role of circadian rhythms in metabolic energy sensing and chronotherapy.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review detailing biological mechanisms and theoretical chronotherapeutic strategies without new primary data.
PubMed 41339276 · doi:10.1080/07853890.2025.2596548
What was done
This narrative review synthesized mechanistic and theoretical evidence on how endogenous transcription-translation feedback loops synchronize central (suprachiasmatic nucleus) and peripheral metabolic clocks (liver, muscle, pancreas, adipose tissue). It reviewed energy-sensing pathways involving AMPK, sirtuins, NAD+/NADH ratios, and clock genes (CLOCK, BMAL1, CRY, PER), examining the metabolic consequences of circadian disruption and the role of chronotherapeutic approaches such as time-restricted feeding, timed lighting, and chronopharmacology.
What was found
The abstract provides a qualitative overview and reports no numerical data or quantitative outcomes. It describes how environmental disruptions, including artificial light at night and irregular feeding schedules, decouple peripheral clocks from central rhythms, impairing muscle glucose absorption and metabolic flux. The authors summarize how aligning therapeutic interventions with tissue-specific circadian sensitivity may restore metabolic homeostasis and reduce adverse drug effects.
Why it matters
It highlights circadian timing as a modifiable variable in metabolic disease management, framing chronotherapy as a strategy to optimize metabolic parameters in modern environments.
Limits
The abstract describes a narrative review with no systematic search criteria, quality appraisal of included literature, or primary human trial data. No sample sizes, quantitative effect sizes, or specific clinical outcomes are reported.
Cited by
- supports Circadian clock genes such as CLOCK, BMAL1, PER, and CRY convert light signals via the suprachiasmatic nucleus to regulate metabolic and energy output daily and seasonally.