Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, Firat University, Elazig, Turkey.
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Animal Nutrition and Nutritional Disorders, Firat University, Elazig, Turkey.
Arch Physiol Biochem. 2023 Apr;129(2):476-483. doi: 10.1080/13813455.2020.1838550. Epub 2020 Nov 6.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of melatonin on the serum asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels and the expressions of vaspin, visfatin, dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), and signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT-3) for evaluation of endothelial function and inflammation in the hypercholesterolemic rats. Rats were divided into 5 groups: (1) control, (2) hypercholesterolaemia, (3) melatonin administrated concurrently with cholesterol diet, (4) melatonin administrated only last 2 weeks and fed with cholesterol diet, (5) atorvastatin administered only last 2 weeks fed with cholesterol diet. Although an increase was observed in the expressions of visfatin and STAT-3 and the serum ADMA levels, the vaspin and DDAH protein expressions were found to decrease with hypercholesterolemic diets. Melatonin was determined to restore all the parameters to the normal levels. In conclusion, melatonin may have protective and therapeutic effects on hypercholesterolaemia by regulating vaspin, STAT-3, DDAH, and ADMA signalling pathways and create similar effects with atorvastatin.
本研究旨在探讨褪黑素对高胆固醇血症大鼠血清不对称二甲基精氨酸（ADMA）水平和内脏脂肪素、内脂素、二甲基精氨酸二甲氨基水解酶（DDAH）和信号转导子和转录激活子 3（STAT-3）表达的影响，以评估内皮功能和炎症。大鼠分为 5 组：（1）对照组，（2）高胆固醇血症组，（3）同时给予褪黑素和胆固醇饮食组，（4）仅最后 2 周给予褪黑素并给予胆固醇饮食组，（5）仅最后 2 周给予阿托伐他汀并给予胆固醇饮食组。虽然高胆固醇饮食导致内脏脂肪素和 STAT-3 的表达增加以及血清 ADMA 水平升高，但发现内脂素和 DDAH 蛋白表达降低。褪黑素可将所有参数恢复至正常水平。结论：褪黑素可能通过调节内脏脂肪素、STAT-3、DDAH 和 ADMA 信号通路对高胆固醇血症具有保护和治疗作用，并与阿托伐他汀产生相似的作用。
