Danielczyk Karolina, Dziegiel Piotr
Katedra i Zakład Histologii i Embriologii Akademii Medycznej im. Piastów Slaskich we Wrocławiu.
Postepy Hig Med Dosw (Online). 2009 Sep 15;63:425-34.
Melatonin, the main hormone produced by the pineal gland, strongly inhibits the growth of cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Some publications indicate that the addition of melatonin to culture medium slows the proliferation of some cancer cell lines. It is also suggested that melatonin used as an adjuvant benefits the effectiveness and tolerance of chemotherapy. The mechanisms of this are not fully understood, but melatonin receptors might be one of the most important elements. Two distinct types of membrane-bound melatonin receptors have been identified in humans: MT1 (Mel1a) and MT2 (Mel1b) receptors. These subtypes are 60% homologous at the amino-acid level. MT1 receptors are G-protein-coupled receptors. Through the a subunit of G protein, melatonin receptors stimulate an adenylate cyclase and decrease the level of cAMP. This has a significant influence on cell proliferation and has been confirmed in many tests on different cell lines, such as S-19, B-16 murine melanoma cells, and breast cancer cells. It seems that expression of the MT1 melatonin receptors benefits the efficacy of melatonin treatment. Melatonin and its receptors may provide a promising way to establish new alternative therapeutic approaches in human cancer prevention.
褪黑素是松果体产生的主要激素，在体外和体内均能强烈抑制癌细胞的生长。一些出版物表明，在培养基中添加褪黑素可减缓某些癌细胞系的增殖。也有人认为，褪黑素用作佐剂有助于提高化疗的有效性和耐受性。其作用机制尚未完全明确，但褪黑素受体可能是最重要的因素之一。在人类中已鉴定出两种不同类型的膜结合褪黑素受体：MT1（Mel1a）和MT2（Mel1b）受体。这些亚型在氨基酸水平上有60%的同源性。MT1受体是G蛋白偶联受体。通过G蛋白的α亚基，褪黑素受体刺激腺苷酸环化酶并降低cAMP水平。这对细胞增殖有显著影响，并已在许多针对不同细胞系（如S-19、B-16小鼠黑色素瘤细胞和乳腺癌细胞）的试验中得到证实。MT1褪黑素受体的表达似乎有利于褪黑素治疗的疗效。褪黑素及其受体可能为人类癌症预防建立新的替代治疗方法提供一条有前景的途径。
