Association of Melatonin Production with Seasonal Changes, Low Temperature, and Immuno-Responses in Hamsters
Seasonal changes impact the melatonin production and immuno-activities in vertebrates. This is believed due to the photoperiodic alterations of the different seasons which impact the functions of pineal gland. The short photoperiod promotes pineal melatonin production. As a result, during the winter...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2018-03-01
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| Series: | Molecules |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/23/3/703 |
| _version_ | 1819173581262684160 |
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| author | Xiaoying Xu Xiaoyan Liu Shuran Ma Ya Xu Ying Xu Xiazhen Guo Dekui Li |
| author_facet | Xiaoying Xu Xiaoyan Liu Shuran Ma Ya Xu Ying Xu Xiazhen Guo Dekui Li |
| author_sort | Xiaoying Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Seasonal changes impact the melatonin production and immuno-activities in vertebrates. This is believed due to the photoperiodic alterations of the different seasons which impact the functions of pineal gland. The short photoperiod promotes pineal melatonin production. As a result, during the winter, animals have significantly higher levels of melatonin than in summer. However, the seasonal changes also include temperature changes. This factor has never been systemically investigated in animals. In the current study, we observed that increased temperature had limited influence on melatonin production. In contrast, cold temperature is the major factor to induce melatonin production in hamsters. Cold temperature per se can upregulate the expressions of melatonin synthetic gene AANAT and ASMT, which are the important enzymes for melatonin biosynthesis. The elevated melatonin levels induced by the cold exposure in hamster in turn, improve the immuno-responses of the animals with increased levels of IL1, 6, and 10 as well CD3. In addition, melatonin as a potent antioxidant and thermogenic agent would improve the survival chance of animals during cold weather. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T20:25:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1fb0560221ab4bc8adeb35b021435012 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T20:25:21Z |
| publishDate | 2018-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj.art-1fb0560221ab4bc8adeb35b0214350122022-12-21T18:13:44ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492018-03-0123370310.3390/molecules23030703molecules23030703Association of Melatonin Production with Seasonal Changes, Low Temperature, and Immuno-Responses in HamstersXiaoying Xu0Xiaoyan Liu1Shuran Ma2Ya Xu3Ying Xu4Xiazhen Guo5Dekui Li6Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, ChinaBeijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, ChinaBeijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, ChinaBeijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, ChinaWorld Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, Beijing 100101, ChinaBeijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, ChinaBeijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, ChinaSeasonal changes impact the melatonin production and immuno-activities in vertebrates. This is believed due to the photoperiodic alterations of the different seasons which impact the functions of pineal gland. The short photoperiod promotes pineal melatonin production. As a result, during the winter, animals have significantly higher levels of melatonin than in summer. However, the seasonal changes also include temperature changes. This factor has never been systemically investigated in animals. In the current study, we observed that increased temperature had limited influence on melatonin production. In contrast, cold temperature is the major factor to induce melatonin production in hamsters. Cold temperature per se can upregulate the expressions of melatonin synthetic gene AANAT and ASMT, which are the important enzymes for melatonin biosynthesis. The elevated melatonin levels induced by the cold exposure in hamster in turn, improve the immuno-responses of the animals with increased levels of IL1, 6, and 10 as well CD3. In addition, melatonin as a potent antioxidant and thermogenic agent would improve the survival chance of animals during cold weather.http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/23/3/703melatoninhamsterimmunity responseAANATASMTcold weather |
| spellingShingle | Xiaoying Xu Xiaoyan Liu Shuran Ma Ya Xu Ying Xu Xiazhen Guo Dekui Li Association of Melatonin Production with Seasonal Changes, Low Temperature, and Immuno-Responses in Hamsters Molecules melatonin hamster immunity response AANAT ASMT cold weather |
| title | Association of Melatonin Production with Seasonal Changes, Low Temperature, and Immuno-Responses in Hamsters |
| title_full | Association of Melatonin Production with Seasonal Changes, Low Temperature, and Immuno-Responses in Hamsters |
| title_fullStr | Association of Melatonin Production with Seasonal Changes, Low Temperature, and Immuno-Responses in Hamsters |
| title_full_unstemmed | Association of Melatonin Production with Seasonal Changes, Low Temperature, and Immuno-Responses in Hamsters |
| title_short | Association of Melatonin Production with Seasonal Changes, Low Temperature, and Immuno-Responses in Hamsters |
| title_sort | association of melatonin production with seasonal changes low temperature and immuno responses in hamsters |
| topic | melatonin hamster immunity response AANAT ASMT cold weather |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/23/3/703 |
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