Melatonin

Some 320 million years ago, amniotes began to invade our planet's terrestrial niches. These amniote ancestors gave rise to two lineages that have led to today's mammals (synapsids) and sauropsids (reptiles and birds). Mammals and non-avian reptiles are the only vertebrates with a layered cerebral cortex. To which degree their circadian systems share common mechanisms or have unique adaptions in regulating sleep timing and architecture is unknown. Early circadian studies in reptiles lack conclusive interpretations and technologies have since greatly improved. The bearded dragon is an establishe

…Interestingly, melatonin, a neurohormone secreted from pineal gland, is a neuroprotective effect and plays a vital role in learning and memory. T

…aimed to investigate the effect of melatonin on the autophagy in the pre

Recent evidence suggests an anti-hypertensive effect for the pineal neurohormone melatonin (MT) as it promotes vasorelaxation through concentration-, receptor-, and vessel-dependent mechanisms. Interestingly, Kv7.4 activation results to be a downstream effect of several vasorelaxants that activate the cAMP signalling cascade. Furthermore, positive modulation of Kv7.4 also appears to be the mechanism by which hydrogen sulphide (H2S) mediates vasorelaxation. In fact, the H2S-donor sodium hydrogen sulphide (NaHS) promoted endothelial-independent relaxations of rat aortic rings by facilitating Kv7

…factors and antioxidants, among them melatonin has been reported to play a key role in neuroprotectection. The melatonergic treatment is remarkably associated with scavenger oxidative stress and cell proliferation. The purpose of this study is the impac

…Melatonin, a hormone mainly secreted in the pineal gland, is believed to restore circadian rhythm of clock genes in the suprachiasmatic nucleus during aging. The present study attempted to examine the daily profiles of different clock genes, and the clock-controlled cognition-related gene during development and aging and examine the effect of melatonin on the expression of these genes during aging in rat hippocampus. The results showed that the mRNA of the cloc

…We and others have shown that melatonin (MLT), improves the disease modulating the immune response in the Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE) monofasic mouse model of MS. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic use of MLT in the neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration and gut dysbiosis in the preclinical model of MS-PP, the progressive EAE (p-EAE).p-EAE was induced in 10-we

Diabetes is a progressive metabolic disease that can severely damage several organs, including the central nervous system. It has been suggested that diabetes can induce cognitive dysfunction due to expression changes of excitatory neurotransmission mediated by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. In addition, diabetes is associated with imbalances in the regulation of intracellular Ca2+, which leads to neuronal damage and, ultimately, a decline in cognitive abilities. Moreover, Type 1 diabetes patients have higher glutamate levels in their brains, which can be used as an early marker of dia

…by light/dark cycle-regulated melatonin secretion from the pineal gland. Circadian disruption reduces melatonin secretion and increases the risk of diabetes and its complications, including anxiety. We aimed to study the effects of reduced daily light exposure on diabetes-associated anxiety-like behavior and brain oxidative stress in streptozotocin-treated rats. Male Wistar rats were divided into the following groups: 1. control (C12/12), saline-treated group with light/dark cycle 12/12h; 2. saline-treated group on light/dark

…Although melatonin ameliorates the severity of EAE by modulating T-cell responses, its action mechanism remains unclear. Our objective was to study the effects of melatonin on the peripheral priming of T cells, their migratio

…light exposure lead to phase shifts in melatonin rhythm. In natural settings, however, light is a very complex signal. How melatonin responds to weekly- and seasonal-dependent variations in light exposure is still poorly understood. In this talk I will present results from a series of observational and intervention studies on the relationship between melatonin and light exposure in the field.