The clock protein PERIOD is expressed in goblet cells of the larval midgut in the silkworm, Bombyx mori

作者：Park Moon Soo; Egi Yuichi; Takeda Makio; Sakamoto Katsuhiko^*

来源：Biological Rhythm Research, 2014, 45(3): 369-374.

DOI：10.1080/09291016.2013.830506

• cellular localization
• circadian oscillator
• midgut
• PERIOD
• peripheral tissue
• silkworm

Insects have both a circadian oscillatory system in peripheral tissues and a master clock in the central nervous system. However, the distribution of oscillator cells in the digestive system that is indispensable for nutrient intake has not been described in detail. This study immunohistochemically investigates cellular localization of the clock protein PERIOD in the larval midgut of the silkworm Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae). PERIOD-like immunoreactivity was not uniformly distributed and was located exclusively in goblet cells of the midgut epithelium. The primary role of goblet cells is the active transport of potassium from hemolymph into the gut lumen. However, these cells might function as a peripheral clock that regulates the daily rhythms of physiological activities in the midgut of silkworm larvae.

• 出版日期2014