ReviewBritish journal of pharmacology2008
Melatonin receptors, heterodimerization, signal transduction and binding sites: what's new?
Review in British journal of pharmacology, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 122 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
122 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 285 citations in OpenAlex.
- Melatonin in cancer treatment.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Melatonin Preserves Mitochondrial Redox Balance in UVB-Exposed Human Keratinocytes.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Cell Signaling by Tryptophan Catabolism.Biochemistry · 2026Review
- GPCR Heterodimers: Implications for Biased Signaling.Handbook of experimental pharmacology · 2026Review
- Melatonin and Breast Cancer: A Review Article.Chonnam medical journal · 2025Review
- Melatonin: a natural guardian in cancer treatment.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Microbial melatonin metabolism in the human intestine as a therapeutic target for dysbiosis and rhythm disorders.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2024Review
- Effect of melatonin as a therapeutic strategy against intrauterine growth restriction: a mini-review of current state.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2024Review
- Mechanism of Action of Melatonin as a Potential Adjuvant Therapy in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Colorectal Cancer.Nutrients · 2024Review
- The Therapeutic Trip of Melatonin Eye Drops: From the Ocular Surface to the Retina.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Role of Melatonin in Viral, Bacterial and Parasitic Infections.Biomolecules · 2024Review
- Melatonin in Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Critical Literature Review.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Lipid Nanoparticles: An Effective Tool to Improve the Bioavailability of Nutraceuticals.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Melatonin and Its Metabolites Can Serve as Agonists on the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor and Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Melatonin and bone-related diseases: an updated mechanistic overview of current evidence and future prospects.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2023Review
- Melatonin as a Therapy for Preterm Brain Injury: What Is the Evidence?Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Melatonin and Health: Insights of Melatonin Action, Biological Functions, and Associated Disorders.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2023Review
- Parkinson's Disease: A Narrative Review on Potential Molecular Mechanisms of Sleep Disturbances, REM Behavior Disorder, and Melatonin.Brain sciences · 2023Review
- Melatonin-mediated FKBP4 downregulation protects against stress-induced neuronal mitochondria dysfunctions by blocking nuclear translocation of GR.Cell death & disease · 2023Article
- Article
62 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Melatonin is a neurohormone that has been claimed to be involved in a wide range of physiological functions. Nevertheless, for most of its effects, the mechanism of action is not really known. In mammals, two melatonin receptors, MT1 and MT2, have been cloned. They belong to the G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily. They share some specific short amino-acid sequences, which suggest that they represent a specific subfamily. Another receptor from the same subfamily, the melatonin-related receptor has been cloned in different species including humans. This orphan receptor also named GPR50 does not bind melatonin and its endogenous ligand is still unknown. Nevertheless, this receptor has been shown to behave as an antagonist of the MT1 receptor, which opens new pharmacological perspectives for GPR50 despite the lack of endogenous or synthetic ligands. Moreover, MT1 and MT2 interact together through the formation of heterodimers at least in cells transfected with the cDNA of these two receptors. Lastly, signalling complexes associated with MT1 and MT2 receptors are starting to be deciphered. A third melatonin-binding site has been purified and characterized as the enzyme quinone reductase 2 (QR2). Inhibition of QR2 by melatonin may explain melatonin's protective effect that has been reported in different animal models and that is generally associated with its well-documented antioxidant properties.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.