McCarthy Ronald, Jungheim Emily S, Fay Justin C, Bates Keenan, Herzog Erik D, England Sarah K
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States.
Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2019 Sep 13;10:616. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2019.00616. eCollection 2019.
Pregnancy is influenced by the circadian ("circa" or approximately; diēm or day) system, which coordinates physiology and behavior with predictable daily changes in the environment such as light/dark cycles. For example, most species deliver around a particular time of day. In mammals, circadian rhythms are controlled by the master circadian pacemaker, the suprachiasmatic nucleus. One key way that the suprachiasmatic nucleus coordinates circadian rhythms throughout the body is by regulating production of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin. Serum melatonin concentration, which peaks at night and is suppressed during the day, is one of the best biological indicators of circadian timing. Circadian misalignment causes maternal disturbances in the temporal organization of many physiological processes including melatonin synthesis, and these disturbances of the circadian system have been linked to an increased risk for pregnancy complications. Here, we review evidence that melatonin helps regulate the maternal and fetal circadian systems and the timing of birth. Finally, we discuss the potential for melatonin-based therapeutic strategies to alleviate poor pregnancy outcomes such as preeclampsia and preterm birth.
怀孕受昼夜节律（“circa”意为大约；“diēm”意为天）系统的影响，该系统使生理和行为与环境中可预测的每日变化（如光/暗周期）相协调。例如，大多数物种在一天中的特定时间分娩。在哺乳动物中，昼夜节律由主昼夜节律起搏器——视交叉上核控制。视交叉上核协调全身昼夜节律的一个关键方式是调节促进睡眠的激素褪黑素的产生。血清褪黑素浓度在夜间达到峰值，白天受到抑制，是昼夜节律时间的最佳生物学指标之一。昼夜节律失调会导致许多生理过程（包括褪黑素合成）的时间组织出现母体紊乱，而这些昼夜节律系统的紊乱与妊娠并发症风险增加有关。在这里，我们综述了褪黑素有助于调节母体和胎儿昼夜节律系统以及分娩时间的证据。最后，我们讨论了基于褪黑素的治疗策略缓解诸如先兆子痫和早产等不良妊娠结局的潜力。
