Circadian clock disruption impairs immune oscillation in chronic endogenous hypercortisolism: a multi-level analysis from a multicentre clinical trialResearch in context

Summary: Background: Glucocorticoids (GC) are potent entrainers of the circadian clock. However, their effects on biological rhythms in chronic human exposure have yet to be studied. Endogenous hypercortisolism (Cushing's Syndrome, CS) is a rare condition in which circadian disruption is susta...

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Main Authors: Valeria Hasenmajer, Emilia Sbardella, Francesca Sciarra, Chiara Simeoli, Claudia Pivonello, Filippo Ceccato, Riccardo Pofi, Marianna Minnetti, Flavio Rizzo, Davide Ferrari, Ilaria Bonaventura, Federica Barbagallo, Elisa Giannetta, Danilo Alunni Fegatelli, Simone Conia, Roberto Navigli, Giorgio Arnaldi, Carla Scaroni, Rosario Pivonello, Daniele Gianfrilli, Mary Anna Venneri, Andrea M. Isidori
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:EBioMedicine
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396424004985
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author Valeria Hasenmajer
Emilia Sbardella
Francesca Sciarra
Chiara Simeoli
Claudia Pivonello
Filippo Ceccato
Riccardo Pofi
Marianna Minnetti
Flavio Rizzo
Davide Ferrari
Ilaria Bonaventura
Federica Barbagallo
Elisa Giannetta
Danilo Alunni Fegatelli
Simone Conia
Roberto Navigli
Giorgio Arnaldi
Carla Scaroni
Rosario Pivonello
Daniele Gianfrilli
Mary Anna Venneri
Andrea M. Isidori
author_facet Valeria Hasenmajer
Emilia Sbardella
Francesca Sciarra
Chiara Simeoli
Claudia Pivonello
Filippo Ceccato
Riccardo Pofi
Marianna Minnetti
Flavio Rizzo
Davide Ferrari
Ilaria Bonaventura
Federica Barbagallo
Elisa Giannetta
Danilo Alunni Fegatelli
Simone Conia
Roberto Navigli
Giorgio Arnaldi
Carla Scaroni
Rosario Pivonello
Daniele Gianfrilli
Mary Anna Venneri
Andrea M. Isidori
author_sort Valeria Hasenmajer
collection DOAJ
description Summary: Background: Glucocorticoids (GC) are potent entrainers of the circadian clock. However, their effects on biological rhythms in chronic human exposure have yet to be studied. Endogenous hypercortisolism (Cushing's Syndrome, CS) is a rare condition in which circadian disruption is sustained by a tumorous source of GC excess, offering the unique opportunity to investigate GC's chronic effects in vivo. Methods: In a 12-month prospective case–control multicentre trial, the daily fluctuations in the number of circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and the time-specific expression of clock-related genes were analysed in a cohort of 68 subjects, 34 affected by CS and 34 matched controls. Cosinor mixed effects model, rhythmicity algorithms and machine learning techniques were applied to the multi-level dataset. Findings: Multiple, 5-point daily sampling revealed profound changes in the levels, amplitude, and rhythmicity of several PBMC populations during active CS, only partially restored after remission. Clock gene analyses in isolated PBMCs showed a significant flattening of circadian oscillation of CLOCK, PER1, PER2, PER3, and TIMELESS expression. In active CS, all methods confirmed a loss of rhythmicity of those genes which were circadian in the PBMCs of controls. Most, but not all, genes regained physiological oscillation after remission. Machine learning revealed that while combined time-course sets of clock genes were highly effective in separating patients from controls, immune profiling was efficient even as single time points. Interpretation: In conclusion, the oscillation of circulating immune cells is profoundly altered in patients with CS, representing a convergence point of circadian rhythm disruption and metabolic and steroid hormone imbalances. Machine learning techniques proved the superiority of immune profiling over parameters such as cortisol, anthropometric and metabolic variables, and circadian gene expression analysis to identify CS activity. Funding: The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union in the context of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Investment PE8 – Project Age-It: “Ageing Well in an Ageing Society”. This resource was co-financed by the Next Generation EU [DM 1557 11.10.2022], the PRecisiOn Medicine to Target Frailty of Endocrine-metabolic Origin (PROMETEO) project (NET-2018-12365454) by the Italian Ministry of Health, and through internal funding to Sapienza University of Rome.
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spelling doaj-art-c55f87a7731e4e978a48e695775fe7ec2025-08-20T02:48:58ZengElsevierEBioMedicine2352-39642024-12-0111010546210.1016/j.ebiom.2024.105462Circadian clock disruption impairs immune oscillation in chronic endogenous hypercortisolism: a multi-level analysis from a multicentre clinical trialResearch in contextValeria Hasenmajer0Emilia Sbardella1Francesca Sciarra2Chiara Simeoli3Claudia Pivonello4Filippo Ceccato5Riccardo Pofi6Marianna Minnetti7Flavio Rizzo8Davide Ferrari9Ilaria Bonaventura10Federica Barbagallo11Elisa Giannetta12Danilo Alunni Fegatelli13Simone Conia14Roberto Navigli15Giorgio Arnaldi16Carla Scaroni17Rosario Pivonello18Daniele Gianfrilli19Mary Anna Venneri20Andrea M. Isidori21Department of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, ItalyDepartment of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, ItalyDepartment of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, ItalyDipartimento di Medicina Clinica e Chirurgia, Sezione di Endocrinologia, Diabetologia, Andrologia e Nutrizione, Università Federico II di Napoli, Naples, ItalyDipartimento di Sanità Pubblica, Università Federico II di Napoli, Naples, ItalyEndocrinology, Dep of Medicine, DIMED, University-Hospital of Padova, Padua, Italy; Endocrine Disease Unit, University-Hospital of Padova, Padova, ItalyOxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UKDepartment of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, ItalyDepartment of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, ItalyDepartment of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, ItalyDepartment of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, ItalyDepartment of Medicine and Surgery, Kore University of Enna, 94100, Enna, ItalyDepartment of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, ItalyDepartment of Public Health and Infectious Disease, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, ItalySapienza NLP, Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, ItalySapienza NLP, Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, ItalyDepartement of Promozione della Salute, Materno-Infantile, Medicina Interna e Specialistica di Eccellenza “G. D'Alessandro” (PROMISE), Palermo University, 90127, Palermo, ItalyEndocrinology, Dep of Medicine, DIMED, University-Hospital of Padova, Padua, Italy; Endocrine Disease Unit, University-Hospital of Padova, Padova, ItalyDipartimento di Medicina Clinica e Chirurgia, Sezione di Endocrinologia, Diabetologia, Andrologia e Nutrizione, Università Federico II di Napoli, Naples, ItalyDepartment of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, ItalyDepartment of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, ItalyDepartment of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Italy; Centre for Rare Diseases (Endo-ERN Accredited), Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, Italy; Corresponding author. Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 329, 00161, Roma, Italy.Summary: Background: Glucocorticoids (GC) are potent entrainers of the circadian clock. However, their effects on biological rhythms in chronic human exposure have yet to be studied. Endogenous hypercortisolism (Cushing's Syndrome, CS) is a rare condition in which circadian disruption is sustained by a tumorous source of GC excess, offering the unique opportunity to investigate GC's chronic effects in vivo. Methods: In a 12-month prospective case–control multicentre trial, the daily fluctuations in the number of circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and the time-specific expression of clock-related genes were analysed in a cohort of 68 subjects, 34 affected by CS and 34 matched controls. Cosinor mixed effects model, rhythmicity algorithms and machine learning techniques were applied to the multi-level dataset. Findings: Multiple, 5-point daily sampling revealed profound changes in the levels, amplitude, and rhythmicity of several PBMC populations during active CS, only partially restored after remission. Clock gene analyses in isolated PBMCs showed a significant flattening of circadian oscillation of CLOCK, PER1, PER2, PER3, and TIMELESS expression. In active CS, all methods confirmed a loss of rhythmicity of those genes which were circadian in the PBMCs of controls. Most, but not all, genes regained physiological oscillation after remission. Machine learning revealed that while combined time-course sets of clock genes were highly effective in separating patients from controls, immune profiling was efficient even as single time points. Interpretation: In conclusion, the oscillation of circulating immune cells is profoundly altered in patients with CS, representing a convergence point of circadian rhythm disruption and metabolic and steroid hormone imbalances. Machine learning techniques proved the superiority of immune profiling over parameters such as cortisol, anthropometric and metabolic variables, and circadian gene expression analysis to identify CS activity. Funding: The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union in the context of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Investment PE8 – Project Age-It: “Ageing Well in an Ageing Society”. This resource was co-financed by the Next Generation EU [DM 1557 11.10.2022], the PRecisiOn Medicine to Target Frailty of Endocrine-metabolic Origin (PROMETEO) project (NET-2018-12365454) by the Italian Ministry of Health, and through internal funding to Sapienza University of Rome.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396424004985Cushing's syndromeHypercortisolismCircadian rhythmGlucocorticoidsImmune system
spellingShingle Valeria Hasenmajer
Emilia Sbardella
Francesca Sciarra
Chiara Simeoli
Claudia Pivonello
Filippo Ceccato
Riccardo Pofi
Marianna Minnetti
Flavio Rizzo
Davide Ferrari
Ilaria Bonaventura
Federica Barbagallo
Elisa Giannetta
Danilo Alunni Fegatelli
Simone Conia
Roberto Navigli
Giorgio Arnaldi
Carla Scaroni
Rosario Pivonello
Daniele Gianfrilli
Mary Anna Venneri
Andrea M. Isidori
Circadian clock disruption impairs immune oscillation in chronic endogenous hypercortisolism: a multi-level analysis from a multicentre clinical trialResearch in context
EBioMedicine
Cushing's syndrome
Hypercortisolism
Circadian rhythm
Glucocorticoids
Immune system
title Circadian clock disruption impairs immune oscillation in chronic endogenous hypercortisolism: a multi-level analysis from a multicentre clinical trialResearch in context
title_full Circadian clock disruption impairs immune oscillation in chronic endogenous hypercortisolism: a multi-level analysis from a multicentre clinical trialResearch in context
title_fullStr Circadian clock disruption impairs immune oscillation in chronic endogenous hypercortisolism: a multi-level analysis from a multicentre clinical trialResearch in context
title_full_unstemmed Circadian clock disruption impairs immune oscillation in chronic endogenous hypercortisolism: a multi-level analysis from a multicentre clinical trialResearch in context
title_short Circadian clock disruption impairs immune oscillation in chronic endogenous hypercortisolism: a multi-level analysis from a multicentre clinical trialResearch in context
title_sort circadian clock disruption impairs immune oscillation in chronic endogenous hypercortisolism a multi level analysis from a multicentre clinical trialresearch in context
topic Cushing's syndrome
Hypercortisolism
Circadian rhythm
Glucocorticoids
Immune system
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396424004985
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