‘Cold cuts’ added to the circadian smorgasbord of regulatory mechanisms

Abstract

In mammals, rhythms in body temperature help to entrain and synchronize circadian rhythms throughout the organism, and the cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRBP) is one of the mediators of these daily temperature changes. Cirbp mRNA expression is regulated by the daily subtle rhythms in body temperature, and a new study by Gotic and colleagues (pp. 2005–2017) reveals a surprising and novel mechanism that involves temperature-dependent enhancement of splicing efficiency.