Thymus-Pineal Gland Axis: Revisiting Its Role in Human Life and Ageing.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to summarize current knowledge on the thymus-pineal axis, focusing on melatonin's immunological roles and potential therapeutic applications.
Results Summary
The study highlights emerging evidence of melatonin's immunological roles and its interaction with the thymus gland, but notes that results are often unclear and not linear, particularly regarding other peptides from these glands.
Population
Not specified (general human health and ageing focus)
Effective Dosage
Not mentioned
Duration
Not mentioned
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
melatonin | neutral | immune activity | - | - | rhythmically secreted | #1 |
thymus-pineal axis (TG-PG axis) | neutral | human life and ageing | human | - | impact on | #2 |
thymus-pineal axis (TG-PG axis) | neutral | therapeutic strategy for human health | human | - | implications in | #3 |
peptides other than melatonin | neutral | - | - | - | role of | #4 |
For years the thymus gland (TG) and the pineal gland (PG) have been subject of increasingly in-depth studies, but only recently a link that can associate the activities of the two organs has been identified. Considering, on the one hand, the well-known immune activity of thymus and, on the other, the increasingly emerging immunological roles of circadian oscillators and the rhythmically secreted main pineal product, melatonin, many studies aimed to analyse the possible existence of an interaction between these two systems. Moreover, data confirmed that the immune system is functionally associated with the nervous and endocrine systems determining an integrated dynamic network. In addition, recent researches showed a similar, characteristic involution process both in TG and PG. Since the second half of the 20th century, evidence led to the definition of an effectively interacting thymus-pineal axis (TG-PG axis), but much has to be done. In this sense, the aim of this review is to summarize what is actually known about this topic, focusing on the impact of the TG-PG axis on human life and ageing. We would like to give more emphasis to the implications of this dynamical interaction in a possible therapeutic strategy for human health. Moreover, we focused on all the products of TG and PG in order to collect what is known about the role of peptides other than melatonin. The results available today are often unclear and not linear. These peptides have not been well studied and defined over the years. In this review we hope to awake the interest of the scientific community in them and in their future pharmacological applications.