Sexual dimorphism of circadian liver transcriptome.

ABSTRACT

Sexual dimorphism affects various aspects of physiology, metabolism and longevity. Circadian clock is a master regulator of metabolism. Anti-aging dietary interventions reprogram circadian transcriptome in the liver and other tissues, but little is known about sexual dimorphism of circadian transcriptome. We compared circadian transcriptomes in the liver of male and female mice on ad libitum (AL) and 30% caloric restriction (CR) diets. We found that AL female mice had a larger number of oscillating genes than male mice, and the portion of the transcriptome with sex-specific rhythms displayed phase difference. We found that CR increased the number of oscillating genes in both sexes and strongly synchronized the transcriptome without complete elimination of sex dimorphism in rhythms. Sex also had an effect on the response of the rhythms to CR. Gene ontology analysis revealed sex-specific signatures in metabolic pathways, which suggests a complex interaction of sex, circadian rhythms, and diet.