Lahiri Debomoy K, Chen Demao, Ge Yuan-Wen, Bondy Stephen C, Sharman Edward H
Institute of Psychiatric Research, Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
J Pineal Res. 2004 May;36(4):224-31. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-079X.2004.00121.x.
Melatonin levels decrease with aging in mice. Dietary supplementation with melatonin has recently been shown to result in a significant rise in levels of endogenous melatonin in the serum and all other tissue samples tested. Herein, the effects of dietary melatonin on brain levels of nitric oxide synthase, synaptic proteins and amyloid beta-peptides (Abeta) were determined in mice. Melatonin supplementation did not significantly change cerebral cortical levels of nitric oxide synthase or synaptic proteins such as synaptophysin and SNAP-25. Increased brain melatonin concentrations however, led to a significant reduction in levels of toxic cortical Abeta of both short and long forms which are involved in amyloid depositions and plaque formation in Alzheimer's diseases. Thus, melatonin supplementation may retard neurodegenerative changes associated with brain aging. Depletion of melatonin in the brain of aging mice may in part account for this adverse change.
褪黑素水平在小鼠衰老过程中会下降。最近有研究表明，通过饮食补充褪黑素可使血清及所有其他检测的组织样本中内源性褪黑素水平显著升高。在此，研究了饮食中添加褪黑素对小鼠大脑中一氧化氮合酶、突触蛋白和β淀粉样肽（Aβ）水平的影响。补充褪黑素并未显著改变大脑皮质中一氧化氮合酶或突触蛋白（如突触素和SNAP - 25）的水平。然而，大脑中褪黑素浓度的增加导致了有毒的短链和长链皮质Aβ水平显著降低，这些Aβ与阿尔茨海默病中的淀粉样沉积和斑块形成有关。因此，补充褪黑素可能会延缓与大脑衰老相关的神经退行性变化。衰老小鼠大脑中褪黑素的消耗可能部分解释了这种不良变化。
