ReviewInternational journal of molecular sciences2013
Melatonin: buffering the immune system.
Review in International journal of molecular sciences, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 292 papers, 6 of them syntheses 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
292 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 718 citations in OpenAlex.
- Melatonin treatment for neonatal encephalopathy.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2026Pooled it
- Timing-dependent effects of melatonin supplementation on exercise performance and exercise-induced muscle damage: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Does melatonin administration reduce the incidence of postoperative delirium in adults? Systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2023Pooled it
- Dexamethasone and Nutraceutical Therapy Can Reduce the Myalgia Due to COVID-19 - a Systemic Review of the Active Substances that Can Reduce the Expression of Interlukin-6.Medical archives (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- COVID-19 Pathophysiology Predicts That Ischemic Stroke Occurrence Is an Expectation, Not an Exception-A Systematic Review.Frontiers in neurology · 2020Pooled it
- Trial
- Exogenous melatonin boosts vaccine-induced immunity in individuals with high pre-existing influenza immunity.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Trial
- A randomized clinical trial of the impact of melatonin on influenza vaccine: Outcomes from the melatonin and vaccine response immunity and chronobiology study (MAVRICS).Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2024Trial
- A phase II, single-center, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial to explore the efficacy and safety of intravenous melatonin in surgical patients with severe sepsis admitted to the intensive care unit.Journal of pineal research · 2023Trial
- Melatonin enhances radiofrequency-induced NK antitumor immunity, causing cancer metabolism reprogramming and inhibition of multiple pulmonary tumor development.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2021Trial
- μPADs for a Safer Night's Sleep: An Alternative for Quality Control of Melatonin Pharmaceutical Formulations.ACS omega · 2026Article
- Biological time and occupational leukemogenesis: the circadian rhythm as a cofactor in benzene toxicity.Journal of the National Cancer Center · 2026Article
- Exploring the immune-modulatory role of melatonin in head kidney and spleen cells of freshwater snakehead teleost, Channa punctatus.Journal of fish biology · 2026Article
- Ovarian Development in Channa argus var.: Joint Mediation by Melatonin, the cAMP Signaling Pathway, and the PI3K-Akt Signaling Pathway in Response to Photoperiod.Marine biotechnology (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- Influenza vaccine response is predicted by chronotype and differentially associated with pre- and post-vaccination sleep.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Article
- The relationship between erythrocyte transfusion in very preterm infants and inflammatory cytokines and morbidities: a prospective observational study.BMC pediatrics · 2026Observational
- Chronic Light-Induced Desynchronosis as a Model of Accelerated Metabolic Aging in Rats: Prevention and Correction by Exogenous Melatonin.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Unveiling melatonin's multifaceted actions against ferroptotic neurotoxicity in ischemic stroke.Toxicology reports · 2026Review
- Dynamic Network Analysis of Symptom Profiles and Their Expected Impact on Patients with Colorectal Cancer Receiving Postoperative Adjuvant Chemotherapy.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
232 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
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
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.
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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.