%0 Journal Article
%T Food anticipation in Bmal1-/- and AAV-Bmal1 rescued mice: a reply to Fuller et al
%A Ralph E Mistlberger
%A Ruud M Buijs
%A Etienne Challet
%A Carolina Escobar
%A Glenn J Landry
%A Andries Kalsbeek
%A Paul Pevet
%A Shigenobu Shibata
%J Journal of Circadian Rhythms
%D 2009
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1740-3391-7-11
%X Fuller et al [1] reported that Bmal1 deficient mice fail to anticipate a daily mealtime, and that restoration of Bmal1 by adenoassociated viral vector restricted to the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH) rescues food-anticipatory circadian rhythms. The authors concluded that the clock gene Bmal1 and the DMH are both required for this circadian function. However, two other labs have found that Bmal1 null mice do anticipate a daily meal under the same conditions as those used by Fuller et al [2,3]. Furthermore, careful scrutiny of the Fuller et al [1] article revealed numerous serious flaws in the evidence as presented in that paper, which led us to assess the results as inconclusive with respect to the role of the DMH and Bmal1 in the entrainment of circadian anticipatory rhythms by food [4]. Fuller et al [5] have now responded to our critique, and argue that 'each of these points [is]incorrect'. Our objectives in this reply are to briefly revisit each point in the critique and to update our analysis in view of what little new information Fuller et al have provided. We also identify and correct factual errors and misconceptions in the Fuller et al response. Fuller et al conclude that 'in no case does [the new information] change our results or their import'. We agree: the results of Fuller et al [1] remain inconclusive. Our original critique of Fuller et al contained 4 sections, addressing: 1. Data management issues, 2. Adequacy of data to support the major claims, 3. Missing data or methods, and 4. Conceptual issues. We now re-examine each point.1a. The original Fuller et al [1] article contained a duplicate figure, one version intended to illustrate that viral-mediated restoration of Bmal1 expression in the DMH rescues food anticipatory rhythms, and the other version of the same data intended to illustrate that restoration limited to the SCN does not rescue food anticipatory rhythms (see Fig. 1 in [4]). The second version was misaligned (time-shifted by 3-h), contained
%U http://www.jcircadianrhythms.com/content/7/1/11