Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 23, 2026
The Use of Mouse Splenocytes to Assess Pathogen-associated Molecular Pattern Influence on Clock Gene Expression
Published on: July 24, 2018
Effects and mechanisms of melatonin on immune responses in mice of different months
Wei Wei1, Yu-Xian Shen, Min Dai
1Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China. wwei@ahmu.edu.cn
Aim:
To study the effects and mechanisms of melatonin (MT) on immune responses in mice of different months.
Methods:
Thymocyte proliferation and IL-2 activity were assayed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl) 2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and activated mouse splenocyte proliferation methods, respectively; cAMP and methionine-enkephalin (met-Enk) level was determined by competitive protein binding assay and radioimmunoassay, respectively.
Results:
The function of lymphocytes, obtained from BALB/c mice aged 6 and 11 months were decreased, which was restored by melatonin at the dose of 5 mg/kg or 30 mg/kg. In vitro, proliferation of lymphocytes in 11-month-old mice was decreased and cAMP level was increased. Melatonin (0.1 nmol/L or 1 micromol/L) had negative regulation to this. Forskolin (10 micromol/L) enhanced the cAMP level of lymphocytes in 2- and 11-month-old mice (P<0.01), which was antagonized partially by melatonin and this effect of melatonin was also abolished by pertussis toxin (1 mg/L) completely. Melatonin (1 micromol/L and 0.1 nmol/L) increased the content of met-Enk of lymphocytes in 2- and 11-month-old mice, respectively (P<0.01), which was blocked by nifedipine (1 micromol/L).
Conclusion:
Melatonin exerted an effect on immune responses in mice of different months, which might be mediated by G protein-AC-cAMP signal transduction pathway and regulation of met-Enk level.
