Increased melatonin 1a-receptor immunoreactivity in the hippocampus of Alzheimer's disease patients.

Full Abstract

The pineal secretory product melatonin has, in addition to regulating retinal, circadian and vascular functions, neuroprotective effects. Blood melatonin levels are often decreased in Alzheimer's disease (AD), a progressively disabling neurodegenerative disorder. In this study we provide the first immunohistochemical evidence for the localization of melatonin 1a-receptor (MT(1)) in aged human hippocampus and a comparison of AD cases. MT(1) was localized to pyramidal neurons in the hippocampal cornu ammonis (CA)1-4 subfields. There was a distinct increase in staining intensity in all AD cases indicating an up-regulation of the receptor, possibly as a compensatory response to impaired melatonin levels in order to augment melatonin's neuroprotective effects.

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Author information

Author/s: Savaskan, Egemen (E); Olivieri, Gianfranco (G); Meier, Fides (F); Brydon, Lena (L); Jockers, Ralf (R); Ravid, Rivka (R); Wirz-Justice, Anna (A); Müller-Spahn, Franz (F);

Affiliation: Psychiatric University Clinic, Basel, Switzerland. esavaskan(-atsign-)datacomm.ch

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Journal of pineal research (J Pineal Res), published in Denmark. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Jan; vol 32 (issue 1) : pp 59-62

Dates: Created 2002/02/13; Completed 2002/05/20; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 11841602, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Alzheimer Disease - metabolism; pathology
Case-Control Studies
Female
Hippocampus - metabolism; pathology
Humans
Immunohistochemistry

Male
Melatonin - metabolism
Middle Aged
Neuroprotective Agents - metabolism
Pyramidal Cells - metabolism; pathology
Receptors, Cell Surface - metabolism
Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear - metabolism
Receptors, Melatonin

Associated Chemicals: Neuroprotective Agents (0) ; Receptors, Cell Surface (0) ; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear (0) ; Receptors, Melatonin (0) ; Melatonin (73-31-4)

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