ArticleMolecular metabolism2019
Temporal expression patterns of the melatoninergic system in the human thymus of children.
Article in Molecular metabolism, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Expression of Rate-Limiting Enzymes of Melatonin Synthesis in Several Extrapineal Organs During Pregnancy in Ewes.Biomolecules · 2026Article
- Xp22.33 Duplication Encompassing PAR1 in a Male with Syndromic Neurodevelopmental Disorder and Tall Stature.Genes · 2026Article
- Insight of Melatonin: The Potential of Melatonin to Treat Bacteria-Induced Mastitis.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Melatonin and Pathological Cell Interactions: Mitochondrial Glucose Processing in Cancer Cells.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Thymus-Pineal Gland Axis: Revisiting Its Role in Human Life and Ageing.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Review
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo obtain greater knowledge of the extra-pineal sources of melatonin during development, the amount of indolamine and the expression levels of the last two enzymes involved in its biosynthesis, Arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) and acetylserotonin O-methyltransferase (ASMT), were analyzed in the human thymus from children from three different age groups (from days to years). The melatonin membrane and nuclear receptor expression levels also were studied.
methodsQuantitative reverse transcriptase PCR and western blot were performed to investigate the receptor and enzyme expression levels. The results were examined and correlated with the ages of the thymuses.
resultsWe found high levels of indolamine in the thymuses of newborns (younger than 1 month), which decreased during development; thymuses from the months (from 2 to 11 months) and years (from 1 to 12 years) groups showed lower levels. A similar decline was also observed in the mRNA of the AANAT enzyme and the expression levels of melatonin receptors. However, ASMT expression was exactly the opposite, with low levels in the newborn group and higher levels in the years group. Our results show that the thymic synthesis of melatonin occurs very early in childhood. Additionally, this is the first report that is focused on melatonin receptors expression in the human thymus.
conclusionConsidering the limited melatonin synthesis performed by the newborn pineal gland, we suggest that the high levels of melatonin found in human thymus in this experimental group arise from synthesis in the tissue itself, which could be contributing to the immune efficiency at the thymic level.
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