Role of Melatonin and Pineal Peptides in Neuroimmunomodulation

Research related to the pineal gland has advanced rapidly in the last three decades since the discovery of its most important hormone, melatonin. This indoleamine has been shown to have a large variety of effects in the organism; the bulk of these actions were initially thought to relate the pineal gland to the reproductive and endocrine systems. It is now apparent, however, that the physiologic interactions of the pineal and its hormones far transcend its control of endocrine function. One field of pineal research that has developed rapidly within the last 5 years has been the demonstration of its relationship to the immune system. Since the pineal gland is part of the central nervous system, these observations generally fall in the category of neuroimmunology, an area that, in its own right, has received a great deal of attention in the last decade. Thus, a NATO Advanced Study Course entitled "Role of Melatonin and Pineal Pep tides in Neuroimmunomodulation" was convened in Erice, Sicily, on June 3-9, 1990. This book is a result of the scientific presentations given at the workshop. The contributions to the book include mini-review articles which summarized the presentations of the invited speakers as well as a selected number of brief communications where the subject matter was in line with the theme of the Advanced Study Course.

Klappentext

Proceedings of a NATO ARW held in Erice, Sicily, Italy, June 3-9, 1990

Zusammenfassung
Proceedings of a NATO ARW held in Erice, Sicily, Italy, June 3-9, 1990

Inhalt
Morphology.- The Pineal Gland of Mammals: Some Open Morphological Questions.- Demonstration of Nerve Fibers Immunoreactive to met-Enkephalin, leu-Enkephalin, and ß-Endorphin in the Bovine Pineal Gland.- Comparative Studies of VIP-, PHI-, and NPY-Immunoreactive Nerve Fibers in the Pineal Gland of the Sheep.- Biochemistry.- Pharmacological Regulation of Receptor-Mediated Indoleamine Metabolism in the Mammalian Pineal Gland.- Regulation of Melatonin Synthesis and Release: Paracrine Relationships in Mammalian Pineal Gland.- New Aspects Concerning the Regulation of Pineal Indoleamine Metabolism: Implications for Neuroimmunology.- The Use of Perifusion Technique in the Research of Pineal Neuroendocrinology. The Role of Different Neurotransmitters in the Regulation of Pineal Melatonin Secretion.- Interferon-? Modulates Indoleamine Metabolism in Rat Pineal Gland in Organ Culture.- Melatonin Receptors.- High-affinity Melatonin Receptors in Mammals: Localization, G-Protein Coupling and Signal Transduction.- Melatonin Receptors in Discrete Areas of Rat and Hamster Brain: Modulation by Melatonin, Testosterone and the Photoperiod.- Melatonin Binding Sites in the Nervous and Immune Systems.- 2-?125I? Iodomelatonin Binding in Normal and Neoplastic Tissues.- Melatonin in the gastrointestinal tract.- Biochemical Characteristics of Melatonin Receptors in Different Organs and Translation of Hormonal Signal in the Nucleus.- Physiology.- Annual Changes in the Daily Pattern of Melatonin Synthesis and Release.- Integration of Environmental Signals by the Pineal Gland and its Significance for Seasonality in Small Mammals.- Opioid Involvement in Melatonin Action.- Effect of Melatonin on NADH-Oxidoreductase Activity and Cyclic Nucleotide Levels in Rat Adrenals.- Temporal Profile ofSuperoxide Dismutase Activity in the Pineal Gland and the Liver of Rats.- Pineal-Harderian Gland Interactions: Morphological and Physiological Evidences for an Endocrine Function of the Syrian Hamster Harderian Gland.- Melatonin Enhances GABA-Mediated Effects when Administered by Micropressure Ejection in Single Unit Neuronal Recordings.- Immunology.- Action of Melatonin on Immune System.- Opioids in Immune Cells.- Spleen Morphology and Lymphoproliferative Activity in Short Photoperiod Exposed Hamsters.- Melatonin Reconstitutes the Decreased CFU-S Content in the Bone Marrow of Hypothalamus - Lesioned Mice.- Oncology.- Melatonin Action on Oncogenesis.- The Effects of Melatonin and Melatonin Analogues on the P388, DLD-1 and MCF-7 Tumor Cell Lines.- Is there a Role for the Pineal Gland in Neoplastic Growth?.- Clinical Studies.- Melatonin, Immunity and Cancer in Humans.- Evidence for a Sex-Specific Facilitatory Effect of Melatonin on Prolactin Secretion. Is Pineal-Prolactin Interaction Relevant to the Clinical Course of Breast Cancer?.- Pineal-Interleukin 2 Interactions and their Possible Importance in the Pathogenesis of Immune Dysfunctions in Cancer.- Significance of Melatonin to Chronobiology: Immunological Correlations.- Circadian Profile of Serum Melatonin in Cushing's Syndrome and Acromegaly.- Urinary 6-Sulfatoxymelatonin Excretion in Breast Cancer Patients and Control Subjects.- Interindividuel Differences in the Responses of Serum and Salivary Melatonin to Light.- Contributors.