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Bocheva G, Bakalov D, Iliev P, Tafradjiiska-Hadjiolova R. The Vital Role of Melatonin and Its Metabolites in the Neuroprotection and Retardation of Brain Aging. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:5122. [PMID: 38791160 PMCID: PMC11121732 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25105122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2024] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
While primarily produced in the pineal gland, melatonin's influence goes beyond its well-known role in regulating sleep, nighttime metabolism, and circadian rhythms, in the field of chronobiology. A plethora of new data demonstrates melatonin to be a very powerful molecule, being a potent ROS/RNS scavenger with anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, and oncostatic properties. Melatonin and its metabolites exert multiple beneficial effects in cutaneous and systemic aging. This review is focused on the neuroprotective role of melatonin during aging. Melatonin has an anti-aging capacity, retarding the rate of healthy brain aging and the development of age-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, etc. Melatonin, as well as its metabolites, N1-acetyl-N2-formyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AFMK) and N1-acetyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AMK), can reduce oxidative brain damage by shielding mitochondria from dysfunction during the aging process. Melatonin could also be implicated in the treatment of neurodegenerative conditions, by modifying their characteristic low-grade neuroinflammation. It can either prevent the initiation of inflammatory responses or attenuate the ongoing inflammation. Drawing on the current knowledge, this review discusses the potential benefits of melatonin supplementation in preventing and managing cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgeta Bocheva
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical University of Sofia, 1431 Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Dimitar Bakalov
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Medical University of Sofia, 1431 Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Petar Iliev
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Medical University of Sofia, 1431 Sofia, Bulgaria
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Watanabe K, Maruyama Y, Iwashita H, Kato H, Hirayama J, Hattori A. N1-Acetyl-5-methoxykynuramine, which decreases in the hippocampus with aging, improves long-term memory via CaMKII/CREB phosphorylation. J Pineal Res 2024; 76:e12934. [PMID: 38241676 DOI: 10.1111/jpi.12934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Melatonin is a molecule ubiquitous in nature and involved in several physiological functions. In the brain, melatonin is converted to N1-acetyl-N2-formyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AFMK) and then to N1-acetyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AMK), which has been reported to strongly enhance long-term object memory formation. However, the synthesis of AMK in brain tissues and the underlying mechanisms regarding memory formation remain largely unknown. In the present study, young and old individuals from a melatonin-producing strain, C3H/He mice, were employed. The amount of AMK in the pineal gland and plasma was very low compared with those of melatonin at night; conversely, in the hippocampus, the amount of AMK was higher than that of melatonin. Indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase (Ido) mRNA was expressed in multiple brain tissues, whereas tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (Tdo) mRNA was expressed only in the hippocampus, and its lysate had melatonin to AFMK conversion activity, which was blocked by the TDO inhibitor. The expression levels of phosphorylated cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) and PSD-95 in whole hippocampal tissue were significantly increased with AMK treatment. Before increasing in the whole tissue, CREB phosphorylation was significantly enhanced in the nuclear fraction. In the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, we found that downregulated genes in hippocampus of old C3H/He mice were more enriched for long-term potentiation (LTP) pathway. Gene set enrichment analysis showed that LTP and neuroactive receptor interaction gene sets were enriched in hippocampus of old mice. In addition, Ido1 and Tdo mRNA expression was significantly decreased in the hippocampus of old mice compared with young mice, and the decrease in Tdo mRNA was more pronounced than Ido1. Furthermore, there was a higher decrease in AMK levels, which was less than 1/10 that of young mice, than in melatonin levels in the hippocampus of old mice. In conclusion, we first demonstrated the Tdo-related melatonin to AMK metabolism in the hippocampus and suggest a novel mechanism of AMK involved in LTP and memory formation. These results support AMK as a potential therapeutic agent to prevent memory decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuki Watanabe
- Department of Clinical Engineering, Faculty of Health Sciences, Komatsu University, Komatsu, Ishikawa, Japan
| | - Yusuke Maruyama
- Department of Sport and Wellness, College of Sport and Wellness, Rikkyo University, Niiza, Saitama, Japan
| | - Hikaru Iwashita
- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Kansai Medical University, Hirakata, Osaka, Japan
- Department of Materials and Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Sophia University, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Haruyasu Kato
- Department of Sport and Wellness, College of Sport and Wellness, Rikkyo University, Niiza, Saitama, Japan
| | - Jun Hirayama
- Department of Clinical Engineering, Faculty of Health Sciences, Komatsu University, Komatsu, Ishikawa, Japan
- Division of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Sustainable Systems Science, Komatsu University, Komatsu, Ishikawa, Japan
| | - Atsuhiko Hattori
- Department of Sport and Wellness, College of Sport and Wellness, Rikkyo University, Niiza, Saitama, Japan
- Department of Biology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan
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