Mechanisms of Melatonin in Alleviating Alzheimer's Disease.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to evaluate melatonin's neuroprotective functions in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis, focusing on its role in modulating amyloidogenic and nonamyloidogenic processing of β-amyloid precursor protein.
Results Summary
Melatonin was found to stimulate nonamyloidogenic processing and inhibit amyloidogenic processing of βAPP by activating α-secretases and downregulating β- and γ-secretases at the transcriptional level, suggesting potential benefits in AD progression. The study highlights melatonin's role in early detection and treatment as an anti-AD therapy.
Population
Cellular and animal models, and clinical interventions in AD patients.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
pharmacological inhibition of β- or γ-secretase | decrease | formation of neurotoxic peptides | - | - | prevent the formation of these neurotoxic peptides | #1 |
stimulating the nonamyloidogenic α-secretase | decrease | formation of neurotoxic peptides | - | - | prevent the formation of these neurotoxic peptides | #2 |
melatonin | increase | processing of β-amyloid precursor protein (βAPP) | - | - | stimulates the nonamyloidogenic processing | #3 |
melatonin | decrease | processing of β-amyloid precursor protein (βAPP) | - | - | inhibits the amyloidogenic processing | #4 |
melatonin | increase | α-secretase activity | - | - | stimulating α-secretases | #5 |
melatonin | decrease | β- and γ-secretase expression | - | - | down regulating both β- and γ-secretases at the transcriptional level | #6 |
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic, progressive and prevalent neurodegenerative disease characterized by the loss of higher cognitive functions and an associated loss of memory. The thus far "incurable" stigma for AD prevails because of variations in the success rates of different treatment protocols in animal and human studies. Among the classical hypotheses explaining AD pathogenesis, the amyloid hypothesis is currently being targeted for drug development. The underlying concept is to prevent the formation of these neurotoxic peptides which play a central role in AD pathology and trigger a multispectral cascade of neurodegenerative processes post-aggregation. This could possibly be achieved by pharmacological inhibition of β- or γ-secretase or stimulating the nonamyloidogenic α-secretase. Melatonin the pineal hormone is a multifunctioning indoleamine. Production of this amphiphilic molecule diminishes with advancing age and this decrease runs parallel with the progression of AD which itself explains the potential benefits of melatonin in line of development and devastating consequences of the disease progression. Our recent studies have revealed a novel mechanism by which melatonin stimulates the nonamyloidogenic processing and inhibits the amyloidogenic processing of β-amyloid precursor protein (βAPP) by stimulating α -secretases and consequently down regulating both β- and γ-secretases at the transcriptional level. In this review, we discuss and evaluate the neuroprotective functions of melatonin in AD pathogenesis, including its role in the classical hypotheses in cellular and animal models and clinical interventions in AD patients, and suggest that with early detection, melatonin treatment is qualified to be an anti-AD therapy.