Wojcik Marzena, Krawczyk Michal, Wojcik Pawel, Cypryk Katarzyna, Wozniak Lucyna Alicja
Department of Structural Biology, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and Postgraduate Education, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
Department of Horticultural Crop Management and Nutrition, Research Institute of Horticulture, Skierniewice, Poland.
Curr Med Chem. 2017 Nov 20;24(35):3829-3850. doi: 10.2174/0929867324666170718110606.
The incidence of both type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and cancer is increasing worldwide, making these diseases a global health problem along with increasing healthcare expenditures. The current therapeutic approaches for treating these multifactorial diseases are far from satisfactory. As increasing evidence shows beneficial effects of melatonin (MLT) on typical pathological changes occurring during the development of T2DM and cancer, the present review focuses on molecular aspects of antidiabetic and anticancer activities of MLT and, moreover, discusses several future directions of research regarding MLT application as potential therapeutic agent.
Critical literature analysis in PubMed central combined with personal expertise.
Numerous in vitro and in vivo studies have revealed that MLT possesses a number of antidiabetic health benefits by diminishing hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and inflammation through modulating various intracellular signaling pathways or other targets involved in the pathophysiology of this disease. Mounting evidence also indicates that MLT exhibits multi-targeted anticancer effects in numerous human malignancies, mainly resulting from its ability to modulate several signal transduction pathways associated with cell survival, proliferation, and apoptosis. Furthermore, beneficial synergistic action of MLT with chemotherapy and radiotherapy has also been observed. Importantly, no adverse outcomes have been found from the clinical use of MLT, which highlights its therapeutic usefulness, either alone or in combination with other conventional therapies, in cancer treatment.
The findings described in this review suggest that MLT may confer potential benefits to human health, particularly in respect to T2DM and cancer.
2型糖尿病（T2DM）和癌症的发病率在全球范围内都在上升，这使得这些疾病成为一个全球性的健康问题，同时医疗保健支出也在增加。目前针对这些多因素疾病的治疗方法远不能令人满意。随着越来越多的证据表明褪黑素（MLT）对T2DM和癌症发展过程中出现的典型病理变化具有有益作用，本综述重点关注MLT抗糖尿病和抗癌活性的分子方面，此外，还讨论了将MLT作为潜在治疗剂应用的几个未来研究方向。
结合个人专业知识对PubMed中央数据库中的重要文献进行分析。
大量的体外和体内研究表明，MLT通过调节各种细胞内信号通路或参与该疾病病理生理学的其他靶点，减轻高血糖、胰岛素抵抗、氧化应激和炎症，从而具有许多抗糖尿病的健康益处。越来越多的证据还表明，MLT在多种人类恶性肿瘤中表现出多靶点抗癌作用，这主要源于其调节与细胞存活、增殖和凋亡相关的几种信号转导通路的能力。此外，还观察到MLT与化疗和放疗具有有益的协同作用。重要的是，MLT的临床使用未发现不良后果，这突出了其在癌症治疗中单独或与其他传统疗法联合使用的治疗价值。
本综述中描述的研究结果表明，MLT可能对人类健康具有潜在益处，特别是在T2DM和癌症方面。
