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Won E, Na KS, Kim YK. Associations between Melatonin, Neuroinflammation, and Brain Alterations in Depression. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 23:ijms23010305. [PMID: 35008730 PMCID: PMC8745430 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23010305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Revised: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 12/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Pro-inflammatory systemic conditions that can cause neuroinflammation and subsequent alterations in brain regions involved in emotional regulation have been suggested as an underlying mechanism for the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). A prominent feature of MDD is disruption of circadian rhythms, of which melatonin is considered a key moderator, and alterations in the melatonin system have been implicated in MDD. Melatonin is involved in immune system regulation and has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory properties in inflammatory conditions, through both immunological and non-immunological actions. Melatonin has been suggested as a highly cytoprotective and neuroprotective substance and shown to stimulate all stages of neuroplasticity in animal models. The ability of melatonin to suppress inflammatory responses through immunological and non-immunological actions, thus influencing neuroinflammation and neurotoxicity, along with subsequent alterations in brain regions that are implicated in depression, can be demonstrated by the antidepressant-like effects of melatonin. Further studies that investigate the associations between melatonin, immune markers, and alterations in the brain structure and function in patients with depression could identify potential MDD biomarkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eunsoo Won
- Department of Psychiatry, Chaum, Seoul 06062, Korea;
- Department of Psychiatry, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, Seongnam 13496, Korea
| | - Kyoung-Sae Na
- Department of Psychiatry, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon 21565, Korea;
| | - Yong-Ku Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Ansan 15355, Korea
- Correspondence:
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Valdés-Tovar M, Estrada-Reyes R, Solís-Chagoyán H, Argueta J, Dorantes-Barrón AM, Quero-Chávez D, Cruz-Garduño R, Cercós MG, Trueta C, Oikawa-Sala J, Dubocovich ML, Benítez-King G. Circadian modulation of neuroplasticity by melatonin: a target in the treatment of depression. Br J Pharmacol 2018; 175:3200-3208. [PMID: 29512136 DOI: 10.1111/bph.14197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2017] [Revised: 02/15/2018] [Accepted: 02/21/2018] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Mood disorders are a spectrum of neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by changes in the emotional state. In particular, major depressive disorder is expected to have a worldwide prevalence of 20% in 2020, representing a huge socio-economic burden. Currently used antidepressant drugs have poor efficacy with only 30% of the patients in remission after the first line of treatment. Importantly, mood disorder patients present uncoupling of circadian rhythms. In this regard, melatonin (5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptamine), an indolamine synthesized by the pineal gland during the night, contributes to synchronization of body rhythms with the environmental light/dark cycle. In this review, we describe evidence supporting antidepressant-like actions of melatonin related to the circadian modulation of neuroplastic changes in the hippocampus. We also present evidence for the role of melatonin receptors and their signalling pathways underlying modulatory effects in neuroplasticity. Finally, we briefly discuss the detrimental consequences of circadian disruption on neuroplasticity and mood disorders, due to the modern human lifestyle. Together, data suggest that melatonin's stimulation of neurogenesis and neuronal differentiation is beneficial to patients with mood disorders. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed section on Recent Developments in Research of Melatonin and its Potential Therapeutic Applications. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v175.16/issuetoc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcela Valdés-Tovar
- Laboratorio de Neurofarmacología, Subdirección de Investigaciones Clínicas, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Rosa Estrada-Reyes
- Laboratorio de Fitofarmacología, Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Héctor Solís-Chagoyán
- Laboratorio de Neurofarmacología, Subdirección de Investigaciones Clínicas, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Jesús Argueta
- Laboratorio de Neurofarmacología, Subdirección de Investigaciones Clínicas, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Ana María Dorantes-Barrón
- Laboratorio de Fitofarmacología, Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Daniel Quero-Chávez
- Laboratorio de Neurofarmacología, Subdirección de Investigaciones Clínicas, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Ricardo Cruz-Garduño
- Laboratorio de Neurofarmacología, Subdirección de Investigaciones Clínicas, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Montserrat G Cercós
- Departamento de Neurofisiología, Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Citlali Trueta
- Departamento de Neurofisiología, Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Julián Oikawa-Sala
- Laboratorio de Neurofarmacología, Subdirección de Investigaciones Clínicas, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Margarita L Dubocovich
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo (SUNY), Buffalo, NY, 14214, USA
| | - Gloria Benítez-King
- Laboratorio de Neurofarmacología, Subdirección de Investigaciones Clínicas, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Ciudad de México, Mexico
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Braunscheidel KM, Gass JT, Mulholland PJ, Floresco SB, Woodward JJ. Persistent cognitive and morphological alterations induced by repeated exposure of adolescent rats to the abused inhalant toluene. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2017; 144:136-146. [PMID: 28720405 PMCID: PMC5583007 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2017.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2017] [Revised: 07/07/2017] [Accepted: 07/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
While thepsychoactive inhalant toluene causes behavioral effects similarto those produced by other drugs of abuse, the persistent behavioral and anatomical abnormalities induced by toluene exposure are not well known. To mimic human "binge-like" inhalant intoxication, adolescent, male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to toluene vapor (5700ppm) twice daily for five consecutive days. These rats remained in their home cages until adulthood (P60), when they were trained in operant boxes to respond to a palatable food reward and then challenged with several different cognitive tasks. Rats that experienced chronic exposure to toluene plus abstinence ("CTA") showed enhanced performance in a strategy set-shifting task using a between-session, but not a within-session test design. CTA also blunted operant and classical conditioning without affecting responding during a progressive ratio task. While CTA rats displayed normal latent inhibition, previous exposure to a non-reinforced cue enhanced extinction of classically conditioned approach behavior of these animals compared to air controls. To determine whether CTA alters the structural plasticity of brain areas involved in set-shifting and appetitive behaviors, we quantified basal dendritic spine morphology in DiI-labeled pyramidal neurons in layer 5 of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and medium spiny neurons in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). There were no changes in dendritic spine density or subtype in the mPFC of CTA rats while NAc spine density was significantly increased due to an enhanced prevalence of long-thin spines. Together, these findings suggest that the persistent effects of CTA on cognition are related to learning and memory consolidation/recall, but not mPFC-dependent behavioral flexibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- K M Braunscheidel
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, 173 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - J T Gass
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, 173 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, SC 29425, USA; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, 67 President Street, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - P J Mulholland
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, 173 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, SC 29425, USA; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, 67 President Street, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - S B Floresco
- Department of Psychology and Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - J J Woodward
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, 173 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, SC 29425, USA; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, 67 President Street, Charleston, SC 29425, USA.
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Melatonin attenuates scopolamine-induced memory/synaptic disorder by rescuing EPACs/miR-124/Egr1 pathway. Mol Neurobiol 2012; 47:373-81. [PMID: 23054680 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-012-8355-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2012] [Accepted: 09/25/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent type of dementia in elderly people. There are decreased melatonin levels in the serum of AD patients, and melatonin supplements are able to reverse AD pathology and memory deficits in many animal experiments and clinical trials. However, the underlying mechanism regarding how melatonin rescues the AD-like memory/synaptic disorder remains unknown. Here, we use the Morris water maze, step-down inhibitory avoidance task, in vivo long-term potentiation recording, and Golgi staining and report that intraperitoneal injection of melatonin (1 mg/kg/day) for 14 days in rats effectively reverses the memory and synaptic impairment in scopolamine-induced amnesia, a well-recognized dementia animal model. Using real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting experiments, we further determined that melatonin rescues the EPACs/miR-124/Egr1 signal pathway, which is important in learning and memory, as reported recently. Our studies provide a novel underlying epigenetic mechanism for melatonin to attenuate the synaptic disorder and could benefit drug discovery in neurodegenerative diseases.
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Domínguez-Alonso A, Ramírez-Rodríguez G, Benítez-King G. Melatonin increases dendritogenesis in the hilus of hippocampal organotypic cultures. J Pineal Res 2012; 52:427-36. [PMID: 22257024 DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-079x.2011.00957.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Neuropsychiatric disorders are characterized by hippocampus decreased volume and loss of dendrite arborizations in the subiculum and prefrontal cortex. These structural changes are associated with diminished memory performance. Hilar neurons of the hippocampus integrate spatial memory and are lost in dementia. They receive information from dentate gyrus neurons through dendrites, while they send axonal tracts to the CA3 region. Dendrites are complex structures of neurons that receive chemical information from presynaptic and postsynaptic terminals. Melatonin, the main product of the pineal gland, has neuroprotective actions through its free radical-scavenging properties and decreases neuronal apoptosis. Recently, we found that melatonin increases dendrite maturation and complexity in new neurons formed in the dentate gyrus of mice. In addition, in N1E-115 cultured cells, the indole stimulates early stages of neurite formation, a process that is known to antecede dendrite formation and maturation. Thus, in this study, we explored whether melatonin stimulates dendrite formation and complexity in the adult rat hippocampus in organotypic slice cultures, which is a model that preserves the hippocampal circuitry and their tridimensional organizations of connectivity. The effects of melatonin were studied in nonpathological conditions and in the absence of harmful agents. The results showed that the indole at nocturnal concentrations reached in the cerebrospinal fluid stimulates dendritogenesis at formation, growth, and maturation stages. Also, data showed that dendrites formed became competent to form presynaptic specializations. Evidence strongly suggests that melatonin may be useful in the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases to repair the loss of dendrites and re-establish lost synaptic connections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aline Domínguez-Alonso
- Departamento de Neurofarmacología, Subdirección de Investigaciones Clínicas, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, México, D.F
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