Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA.
Neuroscientist. 2012 Dec;18(6):645-53. doi: 10.1177/1073858412446634. Epub 2012 May 14.
N-Acetylserotonin (NAS) is a naturally occurring chemical intermediate in biosynthesis of melatonin. Previous studies have shown that NAS has different brain distribution patterns from those of serotonin and melatonin, suggesting that NAS might have functions other than as a precursor or metabolite of melatonin. Indeed, several studies have now shown that NAS may play an important role in mood regulation and may have antidepressant activity. Additional studies have shown that NAS stimulates proliferation of neuroprogenitor cells and prevents some of the negative effects of sleep deprivation. It is believed that the antidepressant and neurotrophic actions of NAS are due at least in part to the capability on this molecule to activate the TrkB receptor in a brain-derived neurotrophic factor-independent manner. Emerging evidence also indicates that NAS and its derivatives have neuroprotective properties and protect retinal photoreceptor cells from light-induced degeneration. In this review, the authors discuss the literature about this exciting and underappreciated molecule.
N-乙酰血清素(NAS)是生物合成褪黑素过程中的一种天然存在的化学中间产物。先前的研究表明,NAS 在大脑中的分布模式与血清素和褪黑素不同,这表明 NAS 可能具有除了作为褪黑素的前体或代谢物之外的其他功能。事实上,现在有几项研究表明,NAS 可能在情绪调节中发挥重要作用,并可能具有抗抑郁活性。其他研究表明,NAS 可刺激神经祖细胞的增殖,并预防睡眠剥夺的一些负面影响。据信,NAS 的抗抑郁和神经营养作用至少部分归因于该分子能够以脑源性神经营养因子独立的方式激活 TrkB 受体。新出现的证据还表明,NAS 及其衍生物具有神经保护特性,可以保护视网膜光感受器细胞免受光诱导的变性。在这篇综述中,作者讨论了关于这个令人兴奋但未被充分认识的分子的文献。