Photic regulation of map kinase phosphatases MKP1/2 and MKP3 in the hamster suprachiasmatic nuclei

MAP kinases (MAPKs) play a key role in photic entrainment signaling in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), the mammalian circadian clock. The control of MAPKs is a fine balance between specific kinases (MEKs) and phosphatases (MKPs), whose orchestration in the SCN is still unresolved. We have found MKP1/2 and MKP3 immunoreactive-cells in the hamster SCN, whose levels are rapidly increased in response to transient light stimulation in the subjective night (CT 18), when light is able to entrain the clock. Moreover, the expression level of MKP3 varies under light-dark cycles and constant darkness, peaking at noon, when MAPKs are in their activated state and begin their inactivation. These results show a different perspective on MAPKs in the SCN, which includes its regulation by a complex net of phosphatases.