Abstract
Much attention has been recently drawn to studying melatonin – a hormone whose synthesis was first found in the epiphysis (pineal gland). This interest can be due to discovering the role of melatonin in numerous physiological processes. It was the discovery of melatonin synthesis in endocrine organs (pineal gland), neural structures (Purkinje cells in the cerebellum, retinal photoreceptors), and immunocompetent cells (T lymphocytes, NK cells, mast cells) that triggered the evolution of new approaches to the unifield signal regulation of homeostasis, which, at the turn of the 21st century, lead to the creation of a new integral biomedical discipline — neuroimmunoendocrinology. While numerous hormones have been verified over the last decade outside the “classical” locations of their formation, melatonin occupies an exclusive position with regard to the diversity of locations where it is synthesized and secreted. This review provides an overview and discussion of the major data regarding the role of melatonin in various physiological and pathological processes, which affords grounds for considering melatonin as the “cornerstone” on which neuroimmunoendocrinology has been built as an integral concept of homeostasis regulation.
Highlights
IntroductionParticular research attention has been attracted to a wide range of melatonin’s biological activities and its role in cellular activity, regulation of intercellular and intersystem relationships, which provides consistency of the body’s internal environment and its protection during interaction with the changing external environment [1,2,3,4,5]
MT is synthesized from the tryptophan amino acid which, through hydroxylation and decarboxylation, turns into serotonin, from which MT is produced with the help of
The photic information from retinal ganglion cells passes through the retino-hypothalamic tract to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), from which signals go to the superior cervical ganglia and reach the pineal gland via sympathetic noradrenergic nerves and activate
Summary
Particular research attention has been attracted to a wide range of melatonin’s biological activities and its role in cellular activity, regulation of intercellular and intersystem relationships, which provides consistency of the body’s internal environment and its protection during interaction with the changing external environment [1,2,3,4,5]. Melatonin (MT) is produced in the pineal gland and in the gastrointestinal tract, brain, liver, kidney, adrenal gland, heart, thymus, genital glands, placenta, uterus, platelets, eosinophilic leukocytes, natural killer cells and other immune system cells [6,7,8,9,10]. The endocrine function of the pineal gland is controlled by hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nuclei (HSN) and has a circadian rhythm. The photic information from retinal ganglion cells passes through the retino-hypothalamic tract to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), from which signals go to the superior cervical ganglia and reach the pineal gland via sympathetic noradrenergic nerves and activate. Light suppresses the MT production and secretion, and its maximum level in the pineal gland and human blood is observed at midnight and the minimum during the daytime [11,12].
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