AUTHOR=Jiang Yin , Li Shiping , Xu Wenming , Ying Junjie , Qu Yi , Jiang Xiaohui , Zhang Ayuan , Yue Yan , Zhou Ruixi , Ruan Tiechao , Li Jinhui , Mu Dezhi 

TITLE=Critical Roles of the Circadian Transcription Factor BMAL1 in Reproductive Endocrinology and Fertility

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2022.818272

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2022.818272

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<p>Brain and muscle aryl-hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator like protein1 (<italic>BMAL1</italic>), a core component of circadian oscillation, is involved in many physiological activities. Increasing evidence has demonstrated the essential role of <italic>BMAL1</italic> in reproductive physiology. For instance, <italic>BMAL1</italic>-knockout (KO) mice were infertile, with impaired reproductive organs and gametes. Additionally, in <italic>BMAL1</italic>-KO mice, hormone secretion and signaling of hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (H-P-G) hormones were also disrupted, indicating that H-P-G axis was impaired in <italic>BMAL1</italic>-KO mice. Moreover, both <italic>BMAL1</italic>-KO mice and BMAL1-knockdown by small interfering RNA (siRNA) <italic>in vitro</italic> cultured steroidogenic cells showed that <italic>BMAL1</italic> was associated with gonadal steroidogenesis and expression of related genes. Importantly, <italic>BMAL1</italic> also participates in pathogenesis of human reproductive diseases. In this review, we elaborate on the impaired reproduction of BMAL1-KO mice including the reproductive organs, reproductive endocrine hormones, and reproductive processes, highlighting the vital role of <italic>BMAL1</italic> in fertility and reproductive endocrinology.</p>