Study type: In vivo/preclinical · Status: Evidence verified by machine against declared source
Mitofusin 2 controls mitochondrial and synaptic dynamics of suprachiasmatic VIP neurons and related circadian rhythms.
The Journal of clinical investigation · 2025
Study scale: Not reported in the declared source.
Abstract only: Open source record
Product or molecular entity relationships
- VIP: Exact entity relationship. Legacy citation custody associates this source with the catalog record; no product-relevance conclusion is implied.
Public plain-language summary
Some fields are not published, because the text held for them did not answer their heading. The published text is limited to the declared source and preserves reported uncertainty. It does not establish efficacy, safety, suitability, or evidence strength.
Research question
Given the indispensable role of SCN VIP neurons in maintaining circadian rhythm (5), we examined here the effect of mitofusin 2 (Mfn2), a mitochondrial membrane protein involved in the control of the fusion process (19), on SCN VIP neuronal activity and downstream effects on behavior, thermoregulation, and sleep.
Study design
To examine the underlying mechanism of this aberrant neuronal activation, we performed ex vivo electrophysiology recordings in 2 groups of animals to measure the membrane potential of the SCN VIP neurons and found that Mfn2–/– mice had more depolarized membranes of VIP neurons than did their control counterparts (Figure 3G).
Participants or experimental system
Perturbed mitochondrial dynamics achieved by conditional ablation of the fusogenic protein mitofusin 2 (Mfn2) in VIP neurons caused disrupted circadian oscillation in mitochondria and synapses in SCN VIP neurons, leading to desynchronization of entrainment to the LD cycle in Mfn2-deficient mice that resulted in an advanced phase angle of their locomotor activity onset, alterations in core body temperature, and sleep-wake amount and architecture.
Study scale
Not reported in the declared source.
Intervention or exposure
Next, we quantified cFos expression in the SCN of Mfn2–/– and control mice exposed to light at ZT13 for 1 hour.
Comparator
This study showed that mitochondrial dynamics governed by the molecule, mitofusin 2, controls synaptic plasticity of neurons of the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus and their functional output.
Outcomes examined
Not published. The text held for this field did not answer this heading, so nothing is shown here and nothing is substituted for it.
Key findings
Here, we demonstrate that mitochondria and synaptic input organization of suprachiasmatic (SCN) vasoactive intestinal peptide–expressing (VIP-expressing) neurons showed circadian rhythmicity.
Limitations and uncertainty
Not reported in the declared source.
Product relevance and evidence boundary
This record is a published study, held here with its citation and review status. It is not a statement that any catalog item is effective, safe, or suitable for any use, and nothing in it is a dose or a protocol.
Evidence verified by machine against declared source. Verification is limited to the declared source and review scope. It does not mean independent replication or establish efficacy, safety, or suitability.