Virtual discovery of melatonin receptor ligands to modulate circadian rhythms.
The neuromodulator melatonin synchronizes circadian rhythms and related physiological functions via actions at two G protein-coupled receptors: MT1 and MT2.
melatonin receptor
Medical Studies on Melatonin
Melatonin, a Full Service Anti-Cancer Agent: Inhibition of Initiation, Progression and Metastasis.
There is highly credible evidence that melatonin mitigates cancer at the initiation, progression and metastasis phases. In many cases, the molecular mechanisms underpinning these inhibitory actions have been proposed. What is rather perplexing, however, is the large number of processes by which melatonin reportedly restrains cancer development and growth.
Melatonin: a multitasking molecule.
Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) has revealed itself as an ubiquitously distributed and functionally diverse molecule. The mechanisms that control its synthesis within the pineal gland have been well characterized and the retinal and biological clock processes that modulate the circadian production of melatonin in the pineal gland are rapidly being unravelled.
Function and expression of melatonin receptors on human pancreatic islets.
Melatonin is known to inhibit insulin secretion from rodent beta-cells through interactions with cell-surface MT1 and/or MT2 receptors, but the function of this hormone in human islets of Langerhans is not known.
Melatonin, endocrine pancreas and diabetes.
Melatonin influences insulin secretion both in vivo and in vitro.
Role of the melatonin system in the control of sleep: therapeutic implications.
The circadian rhythm of pineal melatonin secretion, which is controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), is reflective of mechanisms that are involved in the control of the sleep/wake cycle. Melatonin can influence sleep-promoting and sleep/wake rhythm-regulating actions through the specific activation of MT(1) (melatonin 1a) and MT(2) (melatonin 1b) receptors, the two major melatonin receptor subtypes found in mammals.
Diabetic Goto Kakizaki rats as well as type 2 diabetic patients show a decreased diurnal serum melatonin level and an increased pancreatic melatonin-receptor status.
There are functional inter-relationships between the beta cells of the endocrine pancreas and the pineal gland, where the synchronizing circadian molecule melatonin originates. The aim of this study was to elucidate a putative interaction between insulin and melatonin in diabetic patients and a diabetic rat model.