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Corrales A, Parisotto EB, Vidal V, García-Cerro S, Lantigua S, Diego M, Wilhem Filho D, Sanchez-Barceló EJ, Martínez-Cué C, Rueda N. Pre- and post-natal melatonin administration partially regulates brain oxidative stress but does not improve cognitive or histological alterations in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome. Behav Brain Res 2017; 334:142-154. [PMID: 28743603 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.07.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2017] [Revised: 07/14/2017] [Accepted: 07/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Melatonin administered during adulthood induces beneficial effects on cognition and neuroprotection in the Ts65Dn (TS) mouse model of Down syndrome. Here, we investigated the effects of pre- and post-natal melatonin treatment on behavioral and cognitive abnormalities and on several neuromorphological alterations (hypocellularity, neurogenesis impairment and increased oxidative stress) that appear during the early developmental stages in TS mice. Pregnant TS females were orally treated with melatonin or vehicle from the time of conception until the weaning of the offspring, and the pups continued to receive the treatment from weaning until the age of 5 months. Melatonin administered during the pre- and post-natal periods did not improve the cognitive impairment of TS mice as measured by the Morris Water maze or fear conditioning tests. Histological alterations, such as decreased proliferation (Ki67+ cells) and hippocampal hypocellularity (DAPI+ cells), which are typical in TS mice, were not prevented by melatonin. However, melatonin partially regulated brain oxidative stress by modulating the activity of the primary antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase in the cortex and catalase in the cortex and hippocampus) and slightly decreasing the levels of lipid peroxidation in the hippocampus of TS mice. These results show the inability of melatonin to prevent cognitive impairment in TS mice when it is administered at pre- and post-natal stages. Additionally, our findings suggest that to induce pro-cognitive effects in TS mice during the early stages of development, in addition to attenuating oxidative stress, therapies should aim to improve other altered processes, such as hippocampal neurogenesis and/or hypocellularity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Corrales
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - Eduardo B Parisotto
- Department of Ecology and Zoology, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil
| | - Verónica Vidal
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - Susana García-Cerro
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - Sara Lantigua
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - Marian Diego
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - Danilo Wilhem Filho
- Department of Ecology and Zoology, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil
| | - Emilio J Sanchez-Barceló
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - Carmen Martínez-Cué
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - Noemí Rueda
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain.
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Díaz López B, Debeljuk L. Prenatal melatonin and its interaction with tachykinins in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Reprod Fertil Dev 2007; 19:443-51. [PMID: 17394792 DOI: 10.1071/rd06140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2006] [Accepted: 01/21/2007] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The pineal gland, through its hormone melatonin, influences the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Tachykinins are bioactive peptides whose presence has been demonstrated in the pineal gland, hypothalamus, anterior pituitary gland and the gonads, in addition to other central and peripheral structures. Tachykinins have been demonstrated to influence the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, acting as paracrine factors at each of these levels. In the present review, we examine the available evidence supporting a role for melatonin in the regulation of reproductive functions, the possible role of tachykinins in pineal function and the possible interactions between melatonin and tachykinins in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Evidence is presented showing that melatonin, given to pregnant rats, influences the developmental pattern of tachykinins in the hypothalamus and the anterior pituitary gland of the offspring during postnatal life. In the gonads, the effects of melatonin on the tachykinin developmental pattern were rather modest. In particular, in the present review, we have included a summary of our own work performed in the past few years on the effect of melatonin on tachykinin levels in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Díaz López
- Departamento de Biología Funcional, Area Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Oviedo, C/Julián Clavería no. 6, 33006 Oviedo, Spain
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Tuthill CR, Freeman DA, Butler MP, Chinn T, Park JH, Zucker I. Perinatal influences of melatonin on testicular development and photoperiodic memory in Siberian hamsters. J Neuroendocrinol 2005; 17:483-8. [PMID: 16011484 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2826.2005.01329.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We assessed the influence of perinatal melatonin on reproductive development and adult responsiveness to melatonin. Testicular growth in an intermediate day length (14 : 10 h light/dark cycle) was substantially reduced in Siberian hamsters gestated by pinealectomised compared to pineal-intact females; gonadal development was normalised in offspring of pinealectomised dams that were pinealectomised at 3-4 days of age. Hamsters deprived of melatonin only during gestation, or both pre- and postnatally, underwent testicular involution during treatment with melatonin in adulthood. Photoperiodic histories acquired prenatally did not endure as long as those acquired by adult hamsters. Hamsters first exposed to melatonin in adulthood were not more proficient in acquiring photoperiodic histories than were normal males. These findings indicate that pre- versus postnatal differences in melatonin signal duration determine rates of testicular development. Exposure to melatonin perinatally does not appear to organise the neuroendocrine substrate that mediates effects of day length and melatonin on the gonads of adult hamsters.
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Affiliation(s)
- C R Tuthill
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-1650, USA
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Simonneaux V, Ribelayga C. Generation of the melatonin endocrine message in mammals: a review of the complex regulation of melatonin synthesis by norepinephrine, peptides, and other pineal transmitters. Pharmacol Rev 2003; 55:325-95. [PMID: 12773631 DOI: 10.1124/pr.55.2.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 443] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Melatonin, the major hormone produced by the pineal gland, displays characteristic daily and seasonal patterns of secretion. These robust and predictable rhythms in circulating melatonin are strong synchronizers for the expression of numerous physiological processes in photoperiodic species. In mammals, the nighttime production of melatonin is mainly driven by the circadian clock, situated in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus, which controls the release of norepinephrine from the dense pineal sympathetic afferents. The pivotal role of norepinephrine in the nocturnal stimulation of melatonin synthesis has been extensively dissected at the cellular and molecular levels. Besides the noradrenergic input, the presence of numerous other transmitters originating from various sources has been reported in the pineal gland. Many of these are neuropeptides and appear to contribute to the regulation of melatonin synthesis by modulating the effects of norepinephrine on pineal biochemistry. The aim of this review is firstly to update our knowledge of the cellular and molecular events underlying the noradrenergic control of melatonin synthesis; and secondly to gather together early and recent data on the effects of the nonadrenergic transmitters on modulation of melatonin synthesis. This information reveals the variety of inputs that can be integrated by the pineal gland; what elements are crucial to deliver the very precise timing information to the organism. This also clarifies the role of these various inputs in the seasonal variation of melatonin synthesis and their subsequent physiological function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valerie Simonneaux
- Laboratoire de Neurobiologie Rythmes, UMR 7518 CNRS/ULP, 12, rue de l'Université, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
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Rowe SA, Kennaway DJ. Melatonin in rat milk and the likelihood of its role in postnatal maternal entrainment of rhythms. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2002; 282:R797-804. [PMID: 11832401 DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00228.2001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The rhythm of melatonin in rat milk and the capacity of pups to synthesize and metabolize melatonin were studied. Melatonin was undetectable in milk in the light (< 21 pM), but increased rapidly 2-4 h after dark to peak at 357 +/- 66 pM at mid-dark. Oral or subcutaneous administration of melatonin to 5- and 10-day-old pups resulted in peak plasma melatonin levels 30 min after administration and rapid metabolism. Increases in pineal and plasma melatonin levels at night were detected at 5 and 6 days of age, respectively. Isoproterenol administration (2 microg/g body wt) at mid-light to day 10 pups increased plasma melatonin from 312 +/- 40 pM to 1,298 +/- 160 pM, whereas propranolol (2 microg/g body wt) suppressed nocturnal melatonin secretion from 1,270 +/- 128 pM to 395 +/- 66 pM. The rise of pineal and plasma melatonin in day 10 pups occurred 1 and 2 h after dark onset, respectively, preceding the onset in dams by 3 and 4 h, respectively. Propranolol administration to 2- and 5-day lactating dams inhibited plasma and milk melatonin at night but had no effect on their suckling pups. Transfer of melatonin via the milk is unlikely to provide an entraining signal for rat pups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn A Rowe
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Adelaide Medical School, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
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Klante G, Secci K, Masson-Pévet M, Pévet P, Vivien-Roels B, Steinlechner S, Wollnik F. Interstrain differences in activity pattern, pineal function, and SCN melatonin receptor density of rats. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY 1999; 276:R1078-86. [PMID: 10198388 DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.1999.276.4.r1078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the possibility that strain-dependent differences in the diurnal pattern of wheel running activity rhythms are also reflected in the melatonin profiles. The inbred rat strains ACI/Ztm, BH/Ztm, and LEW/Ztm. LEW were examined for diurnal [12:12-h light-dark (LD)] wheel running activity, urinary 6-sulphatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) excretion, melatonin concentrations of plasma and pineal glands, and melatonin receptor density in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). ACI rats displayed unimodal activity patterns with a high level of activity, whereas BH and LEW rats showed multimodal activity patterns with ultradian components and reduced activity levels. In contrast, the individual daily profiles of aMT6s excretion and mean melatonin synthesis followed a unimodal time pattern in all three strains, suggesting that different output pathways of the SCN are responsible for the temporal organization of locomotor activity and pineal melatonin synthesis. In addition, melatonin synthesis at night and SCN melatonin receptor density at day were significantly higher in BH and LEW rats than in ACI rats. These results support the hypothesis of a long-term stimulating effect of melatonin on its own receptor density in the SCN.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Klante
- Biological Institute, Department of Animal Physiology, University of Stuttgart, D-70550 Stuttgart, Germany
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Abstract
Entrainment to the 24-hour light-dark cycle is of adaptive significance to mammals. Human infants are no exception, but some postnatal care habits prevalent in developed countries can interfere with the physiological mechanisms underlying circadian synchronization. We describe the physiological mechanisms of entrainment to the light-dark cycle in fetuses and newborns, and some common parental care behaviors which subject the developing circadian system of the newborn to conflicting temporal cues. Improvements in parental care are proposed which may improve the circadian synchronization of newborns, and their parents or caregivers.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Recio
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Spain
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