Université de Fribourg

Medicine in the fourth dimension

R.Cederroth, Christopher ; Albrecht, Urs ; Bass, Joseph ; Brown, Steven A. ; Dyhrfjeld-Johnsen, Jonas ; Gachon, Frederic ; Green, Carla B. ; Hastings, Michael H. ; Helfrich-Förster, Charlotte ; B.Hogenesch, John ; Lévi, Francis ; Loudon, Andrew ; B.Lundkvist, Gabriella ; H.Meijer, Johanna ; Rosbash, Michael ; S.Takahashi, Joseph ; Young, Michael ; Canlon, Barbara

In: Cell Metabolism, 2019, vol. 30, no. 2, p. 238–250

The importance of circadian biology has rarely been considered in pre-clinical studies, and even more when translating to the bedside. Circadian biology is becoming a critical factor for improving drug efficacy and diminishing drug toxicity. Indeed, there is emerging evidence showing that some drugs are more effective at nighttime than daytime, whereas for others it is the opposite. This...

Consortium of Swiss Academic Libraries

Circadian rhythms and sleep—the metabolic connection

Albrecht, Urs

In: Pflügers Archiv - European Journal of Physiology, 2012, vol. 463, no. 1, p. 23-30

Université de Fribourg

The circadian clock and mood-related behavior : addendum to Hampp G. et al., Regulation of monoamine oxidase a by circadian-clock components implies clock influence on mood. Curr Biol 18:678–83, 2008.

Hampp, Gabriele ; Albrecht, Urs

In: Communicative & Integrative Biology, 2008, vol. 1, no. 1, p. 1-3

Over many years evidence accumulated that circadian rhythms are related to psychiatric disorders.1-3 However, a mechanistic relationship between the circadian clock and mood related behaviors remained enigmatic. Now, we have reported that monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), a mitochondrial enzyme degrading catecholamines including dopamine, is regulated by components of the circadian clock .4...

Université de Fribourg

Differences in locomotor behavior revealed in mice deficient for the calcium-binding proteins parvalbumin, calbindin D-28k or both

Farré-Castany, Maria A. ; Schwaller, Beat ; Gregory, Patrick ; Barski, Jaroslaw ; Mariethoz, Céline ; Eriksson, Jan L. ; Tetko, Igor V. ; Wolfer, David ; Celio, Marco R. ; Schmutz, Isabelle ; Albrecht, Urs ; Villa, Alessandro E.P.

In: Behavioural Brain Research, 2007, vol. 178, no. 2, p. 250-261

We investigated the role of the two calcium-binding proteins parvalbumin (PV) and calbindin D-28k (CB) in the locomotor activity and motor coordination using null-mutant mice for PV (PV−/−), CB (CB−/−) or both proteins (PV−/−CB−/−). These proteins are expressed in distinct, mainly non-overlapping populations of neurons of the central and peripheral nervous system and PV...

Université de Fribourg

Restoration of circadian rhythmicity in circadian clock-deficient mice in constant light

Abraham, Diya ; Dallmann, Robert ; Steinlechner, Stephan ; Albrecht, Urs ; Eichele, Gregor ; Oster, Henrik

In: Journal of Biological Rhythms, 2006, vol. 21(3), p. 169-176

In mammals, circadian rhythms in behavior and physiology are controlled by a central pacemaker, the SCN, and subordinated clocks throughout the body. On the molecular level, these clocks are based on transcriptional/translational feedback loops involving a set of clock genes that regulate their own transcription. Among the components driving the mammalian circadian clock are the Period 1...

Université de Fribourg

mPer1 and mPer2 mutant mice show regular spatial and contextual learning in standardized tests for hippocampus-dependent learning

Zueger, M. ; Urani, A. ; Chourbaji, S. ; Zacher, C. ; Lipp, H. P. ; Albrecht, Urs ; Spanagel, R. ; Wolfer, D. P. ; Gass, P.

In: Journal of Neural Transmission, 2006, vol. 113, no. 3, p. 347-356

Learning and memory, like most physiological processes, seem to be under the control of circadian rhythm. The recently cloned mPer1 and mPer2 genes play an important role in the regulation of the circadian rhythm. In this study, we tested mPer1 and mPer2 mutant mice in two different learning and memory paradigms, a water-maze place navigation task and contextual...

Université de Fribourg

Life time—circadian clocks, mitochondria and metabolism

Langmesser, Sonja ; Albrecht, Urs

In: Chronobiology International, 2006, vol. 23, no. 1-2, p. 51–157

A functional circadian clock has long been considered a selective advantage. Accumulating evidence shows that the clock coordinates a variety of physiological processes in order to schedule them to the optimal time of day and thus to synchronize metabolism to changes in external conditions. In mitochondria, both metabolic and cellular defense mechanisms are carefully regulated. Abnormal clock...

Université de Fribourg

A guideline for analyzing circadian wheel-running behavior in rodents under different lighting conditions

Jud, Corinne ; Schmutz, Isabelle ; Hampp, Gabriele ; Oster, Henrik ; Albrecht, Urs

In: Biological Procedures Online, 2005, vol. 7, p. 101-116

Most behavioral experiments within circadian research are based on the analysis of locomotor activity. This paper introduces scientists to chronobiology by explaining the basic terminology used within the field. Furthermore, it aims to assist in designing, carrying out, and evaluating wheel-running experiments with rodents, particularly mice. Since light is an easily applicable stimulus that...