A team of scientists in Japan has discovered a compound that may help reset the body’s internal clock, a finding that could lead to better treatments for jet lag and sleep problems tied to shift work.

The compound, called Mic-628, acts directly on the body’s circadian rhythm, the internal system that controls sleep, wakefulness and other daily patterns.

The researchers found that Mic-628 turns on a key gene called Per1 that helps keep the body’s clock on schedule.

In lab experiments, Mic-628 attached to a protein called CRY1, which normally slows down clock-related genes. By binding to CRY1, the compound allowed a group of proteins to switch Per1 back on.

This caused the body’s main clock in the brain, as well as clocks in organs like the lungs, to shift on together.

One striking finding: The clock shift happened no matter when the compound was given. That sets Mic-628 apart from current methods, like light therapy or melatonin, which usually depend on very precise timing.

To see how this might work in real life, the researchers tested Mic-628 in mice that were experiencing a schedule change like that of jet lag.

The animals’ light-dark cycle was moved ahead by six hours, similar to flying east across multiple time zones.

Mice given a single oral dose of Mic-628 adjusted to the new schedule in four days, compared with seven days for untreated mice.

The researchers found that this steady shift forward was linked to a feedback loop involving the PER1 protein, which helped stabilize the new timing.

Moving the body clock earlier, such as when traveling east or starting early work shifts, is especially hard on the body. These forward shifts often take longer and cause more fatigue than staying up later.

Because Mic-628 pushed the clock forward in a consistent way, without needing precise timing, researchers say it could represent a new drug-based approach to resetting circadian rhythms.

The scientists say more studies are needed to test the compound’s safety and effects in additional animal models and, eventually, in people.

If future research is successful, Mic-628 could become a tool to help treat jet lag, shift-work sleep problems and other health issues linked to a misaligned body clock.

The findings were published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

Hajime Tei, an emeritus professor at Kanazawa University Graduate School of Natural Science & Technology led the study.