Melatonin: Buffering the Immune System

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Antonio Carrillo-Vico¹  Patricia J. Lardone¹  Nuria Álvarez-Sánchez²  Ana Rodríguez-Rodríguez² 

[1]Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBiS) and Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Virgen del Rocío University Hospital/CSIC/University of Seville, 41013 Sevilla, Spain

[2] E-Mails:

[3]Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBiS) and Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Virgen del Rocío University Hospital/CSIC/University of Seville, 41013 Sevilla, Spain

[4] E-Mails:

关键词: melatonin;    pineal;    immune system;    cytokines;    inflammation;    infection;    autoimmunity;    vaccination;    immunosenescence;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms14048638

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Melatonin modulates a wide range of physiological functions with pleiotropic effects on the immune system. Despite the large number of reports implicating melatonin as an immunomodulatory compound, it still remains unclear how melatonin regulates immunity. While some authors argue that melatonin is an immunostimulant, many studies have also described anti-inflammatory properties. The data reviewed in this paper support the idea of melatonin as an immune buffer, acting as a stimulant under basal or immunosuppressive conditions or as an anti-inflammatory compound in the presence of exacerbated immune responses, such as acute inflammation. The clinical relevance of the multiple functions of melatonin under different immune conditions, such as infection, autoimmunity, vaccination and immunosenescence, is also reviewed.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland