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CLOCK/BMAL1 interactome uncovers homeodomain factors as tissue regulators

Fatih Aygenli, Lukas A. Huschet, Tanja Popp, Andrea Ribeiro and 10 more

Nature Cell Biology | Aug 6, 2026

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It is demonstrated that tissue-specific transcription factors confer cellular identity on the core clock, thereby contributing to organ-specific patterns of rhythmic gene expression.

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Circadian clocks underlie daily rhythms in physiology by coordinating temporal patterns of gene expression and protein function throughout the body. At the core of this system in mammals is CLOCK/BMAL1, a ubiquitously expressed heterodimeric transcription factor complex that orchestrates tissue-specific circadian gene expression. The basis for this specificity remains unclear, but tissue-specific interactions at chromatin could provide one. Here we used chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled to mass spectrometry to map CLOCK/BMAL1-associated protein complexes on chromatin in mouse liver, kidney and lung. We detected 1,510 associated proteins, most of which were tissue-specific and not explained by protein abundance. Among these, we identified the homeodomain transcription factors PROX1, HNF1B and HOXA5 as tissue-enriched interactors that bind BMAL1, co-occupy most BMAL1 genomic sites and establish organ-restricted circadian transcription. Our findings demonstrate that tissue-specific transcription factors confer cellular identity on the core clock, thereby contributing to organ-specific patterns of rhythmic gene expression.

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Authors

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Fatih Aygenli

first | Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München | ORCID 0009-0000-8749-2324

Lukas A. Huschet

middle | Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München | ORCID 0009-0001-8570-1011

Tanja Popp

middle | Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München | ORCID 0000-0002-9028-3870

Andrea Ribeiro

middle | TUM Klinikum

Darina Barkhatova

middle | Institute of Science and Technology Austria | ORCID 0000-0002-0062-2817

Céline Jouffe

middle | Helmholtz Munich | ORCID 0000-0002-7176-4724

Riccardo Trozzo

middle | German Cancer Research Center | ORCID 0000-0002-5889-994X

Jérôme S. Menet

middle | Texas A&M University | ORCID 0000-0002-7682-0967

Roland Rad

middle | German Cancer Research Center | ORCID 0000-0002-6849-9659

Kenneth A. Dyar

middle | Helmholtz Munich | ORCID 0000-0002-9010-8757

Maciej Lech

middle | TUM Klinikum | ORCID 0000-0002-4293-2733

Tobias Straub

middle | Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München | ORCID 0000-0002-0547-0453

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Citation

BibTeX

@article{Aygenli2026CLOCK,
  title = {CLOCK/BMAL1 interactome uncovers homeodomain factors as tissue regulators},
  author = {Fatih Aygenli and Lukas A. Huschet and Tanja Popp and Andrea Ribeiro and Darina Barkhatova and Céline Jouffe and Riccardo Trozzo and Jérôme S. Menet and Roland Rad and Kenneth A. Dyar and Maciej Lech and Tobias Straub and Alicia K. Michael and María S. Robles},
  journal = {Nature Cell Biology},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1038/s41556-026-02041-4},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-026-02041-4}
}

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