In vivo endotoxin synchronizes and suppresses clock gene expression in human peripheral blood leukocytes.

The article presents a study which identifies whether circadian clock gene expression in the human peripheral blood leukocytes is altered dramatically and possibly uncoupled from the central clock's activity during periods of acute systemic inflammation. It says that a standard dose of endotoxin or saline was administered to human subjects and collected blood samples at selected pre- and postinfusion periods. The results showed that the melatonin secretory rhythm was not perturb by endotoxin.