Lipids play important roles in energy metabolism along with diverse aspects of biological membrane structure, signaling and other functions. Perturbations of lipid metabolism are responsible for the development of various pathologies comprising metabolic syndrome, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. Accumulating evidence suggests that circadian oscillators, operative in most cells of our body, coordinate temporal aspects of lipid homeostasis. In this review we summarize current knowledge on the circadian regulation of lipid digestion, absorption, transportation, biosynthesis, catabolism, and storage. Specifically, we focus on the molecular interactions between functional clockwork and biosynthetic pathways of major lipid classes comprising cholesterol, fatty acids, triacylglycerols, glycerophospholipids, glycosphingolipids, and sphingomyelins. A growing body of epidemiological studies associate a socially imposed circadian misalignment common in modern society with growing incidence of metabolic disorders, however the disruption of lipid metabolism rhythms in this connection has only been recently revealed. Here, we highlight recent studies that unravel the mechanistic link between intracellular molecular clocks, lipid homeostasis and development of metabolic diseases based on animal models of clock disruption and on innovative translational studies in humans. We also discuss the perspectives of manipulating circadian oscillators as a potentially powerful approach for preventing and managing metabolic disorders in human patients.

脂质在能量代谢以及生物膜结构、信号传导和其他功能的各个方面发挥着重要作用。脂质代谢的扰动是导致各种病症的发生的原因，包括代谢综合征、肥胖和2型糖尿病。越来越多的证据表明，昼夜节律振荡器在我们身体的大多数细胞中发挥作用，协调脂质稳态的时间方面。在这篇综述中，我们总结了有关脂质消化、吸收、运输、生物合成、分解代谢和储存的昼夜节律调节的最新知识。具体来说，我们重点关注主要脂质类别（包括胆固醇、脂肪酸、三酰甘油、甘油磷脂、糖鞘脂和鞘磷脂）的功能性时钟和生物合成途径之间的分子相互作用。越来越多的流行病学研究将现代社会中常见的社会强加的昼夜节律失调与代谢紊乱发病率的增加联系起来，然而，与此相关的脂质代谢节律的破坏直到最近才被揭示。在这里，我们重点介绍最近的研究，这些研究基于时钟破坏的动物模型和人类的创新转化研究，揭示了细胞内分子时钟、脂质稳态和代谢疾病发展之间的机制联系。我们还讨论了操纵昼夜节律振荡器作为预防和管理人类患者代谢紊乱的潜在有效方法的观点。