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Updated: Oct 15, 2026

Parallel Measurement of Circadian Clock Gene Expression and Hormone Secretion in Human Primary Cell Cultures
Published on: November 11, 2016
Nuclear receptors are involved in the enhanced IL-6 production by melatonin in U937 cells
J M Guerrero1, D Pozo, S García-Mauriño
1Department of Medical Biochemistry, The University of Seville School of Medicine, Seville, Spain. guerrero@cica.es
Abstract:
This report shows that melatonin enhances IL-6 production by U937 cells via a nuclear receptor-mediated mechanism. Resting U937 cells only express membrane (mt1) melatonin receptors. In these cells, melatonin did not modify basal production of IL-6 or when activated by PMA plus lipopolysaccharide, a treatment that downregulates the expression of mt1 receptor. However, in U937 cells activated with IFN-gamma, which induces the expression of the ROR alpha 1 and ROR alpha 2 nuclear receptors and represses the expression of the mt1 receptor, melatonin can activate IL-6 production. These results show that the expression of nuclear melatonin receptor but not membrane receptors is sufficient for melatonin to activate cytokine production in human lymphocytic and monocytic cell lines.
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