Background: Circadian rhythm is associated with the aging process and sex differences; however, how age and sex can change circadian regulation systems remains unclear. Thus, we aimed to evaluate age- and sex-related changes in gene expression and identify sex-specific target molecules that can regulate aging.
Methods: Rat livers were categorized into four groups, namely, young male, old male, young female, and old female, and the expression of several genes involved in the regulation of the circadian rhythm was confirmed by in silico and in vitro studies.
Results: Gene Ontology and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses showed that the expression of genes related to circadian rhythms changed more in males than in females during liver aging. In addition, differentially expressed gene analysis and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction/western blotting analysis revealed that Nr1d1 and Nr1d2 expression was upregulated in males during liver aging. Furthermore, the expression of other circadian genes, such as Arntl, Clock, Cry1/2, Per1/2, and Rora/c, decreased in males during liver aging; however, these genes showed various gene expression patterns in females during liver aging.
Conclusions: Age-related elevation of Nr1d1/2 downregulates the expression of other circadian genes in males, but not females, during liver aging. Consequently, age-related upregulation of Nr1d1/2 may play a more crucial role in the change in circadian rhythms in males than in females during liver aging.
Keywords: Nr1d1; Nr1d2; aging; circadian rhythm; liver; sex difference.