Description
In intact animals, time of drug administration may be an important factor influencing drug response. Our general goal seeks to incorporate circadian time into the study of corticosteroid regulated gene expression. This study is designed to examine fluctuations in gene expression in skeletal muscle within the 24 hour circadian cycle in normal animals. Circadian time is relevant to designing optimal corticosteroid dosing regimens. Since levels of endogenous steroid exhibit circadian fluctuations, it is our hypothesis that the expression of genes controlled by corticosteroids either directly or indirectly will also exhibit a circadian pattern in normal animals.