# The circadian time of food intake and its effect on reproductive health

> **NIH NIH R01** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $554,624

## Abstract

Abstract
Disruptions of the internal circadian clock system reduce reproductive success in both humans and animal
models. For example, shift workers have greater rates of menstrual cycle disruption and endometriosis,
reduced fertility, and have an increased risk for pre-term birth, low birth weight, and miscarriage. The
mechanisms that contribute to this public health problem are unknown. We have focused on changes in when
food is consumed, because circadian disruption often leads to abnormal food consumption during normal
fasting phases. In a preclinical model, we have found that mis-timed meals reduce fertility in mice via an
uncoupling of mating behavior and ovulation rhythms. In particular, in mice that eat during their rest phase, the
pre-ovulatory luteinizing hormone (LH) surge that normally occurs at lights-off instead can occur at any time
throughout the day. It is desynchronized from both the light-dark cycle and the feeding cycle. The timing of the
LH surge is controlled proximately by a population of kisspeptin neurons that receive direct input from the
circadian clock and that are sensitive to estradiol and metabolic cues. Our goals in this application are to
identify specific mechanisms by which food-induced disruptions of central circadian clocks lead to impaired
reproductive success. This will be accomplished in three aims. First, the relative sensitivity of male and female
reproductive function to mis-timed food will be assessed. Second, we will determine how rhythmic light and
food cues are integrated by an important ovulatory control system—kisspeptin neurons in the anteroventral
periventricular nucleus. Finally, we will address the direct converse of our observation that a mismatch
between the light-dark cycle and the circadian clock impairs reproduction. Namely, can appropriate food timing
protect against circadian disruption and rescue reproductive competence? In addition, we will quantitatively
assess the role of circadian clocks in kisspeptin neuronal function. The results of these studies will show how
environmental cues and hypothalamic clocks interact in the control of fertility.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10838576
- **Project number:** 5R01HD109477-02
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Matthew P Butler
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $554,624
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-05-15 → 2028-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10838576

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10838576, The circadian time of food intake and its effect on reproductive health (5R01HD109477-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10838576. Licensed CC0.

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