BMAL1 and depressive disorder: In addition, acute sleep deprivation in mice causes dysregulation of circadian rhythm-related gene expression and imbalances in gut microbiota, leading to excessive neuroinflammation and depression-like behaviors (119).Period genes 2 mediate the association between neuroinflammation and depressive behavior by affecting the expression of BMAL1 and its regulation of chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 5 (RANTES) (120).