Abstract
The antioxidant properties of melatonin can be successfully used to reduce the effects of oxidative stress caused by homocysteine. The beneficial actions of melatonin are mainly due to its ability to inhibit the generation of the hydroxyl radical during the oxidation of homocysteine. Melatonin protects endothelial cells, neurons, and glia against the action of oxygen radicals generated by homocysteine and prevents the structural changes in cells that lead to impaired contractility of blood vessels and neuronal degeneration. It can be, therefore, assumed that the results obtained in experiments performed mainly in the in vitro models and occasionally in animal models may clear the way to clinical applications of melatonin in patients with hyperhomocysteinemia, who exhibit a higher risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease) and cardiovascular diseases of atherothrombotic etiology. However, the results that have been obtained so far are scarce and have seldom been performed on advanced in vivo models. All findings predominately originate from the use of in vitro models and the scarcity of clinical evidence is huge. Thus, this mini-review should be considered as a summary of the outcomes of the initial research in the field concerning the use of melatonin as a possibly efficient attenuator of oxidative stress induced by homocysteine.
Highlights
Melatonin, a hormone secreted by the pituitary gland, is known primarily for its involvement in the regulation of the circadian biorhythm [1,2]
Of this article, we discuss the possibility of the prevention against homocysteine-induced cell changes by melatonin based on the experimental models, in which melatonin added as an exogenous agent mainly played the role of a scavenger of oxygen free radicals generated by homocysteine
In the offspring of female rats that were treated with ethanol and melatonin during pregnancy, the development of hyperhomocysteinemia in the cerebellum was inhibited and the lipid peroxidation process was reduced, which, in turn, resulted in less severe motor defects in the newborn rats, in comparison to the offspring born of the females treated with ethanol, but without the melatonin supplementation [81]
Summary
A hormone secreted by the pituitary gland, is known primarily for its involvement in the regulation of the circadian biorhythm [1,2]. From a social point of view [19,20], the two most important groups of diseases associated with disorders of homocysteine metabolism are diseases of the nervous system, especially those of neurodegenerative etiology [10], and cardiovascular diseases of thrombotic etiology [21] These diseases usually coexist [22], especially in the elderly, and show a common biochemical basis, which is the non-specific induction of oxidative stress by homocysteine [10,23]. A molecule with a well-known ( much remains to be investigated) antioxidant activity, will prove to be an effective limiter of the oxidative stress induced by homocysteine and, a significant reducer of the risk of the development of homocysteine-dependent neurodegenerative and thromboembolic diseases co-occurring, as often mentioned, especially in elderly people.
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