The involvement of pineal gland and melatonin in immunity and aging. I. Thymus-mediated, immunoreconstituting and antiviral activity of thyrotropin-releasing hormone.
Circadian, continued treatment with melatonin during the dark cycle produces changes in the blood level of thyroid hormones in aging mice. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) antagonize the involution of the thymus produced by prednisolone. This effect of TRH does not seem thyroid dependent. TRH restores antibody production in non-responder athymic nude mice but does not exert this effect in neonatally thymectomized mice. Moreover, this activity does not correlate with thyroxine levels. TRH exerts a powerful protective effect in mice challenged with encephalomyocarditis (EMC) virus. Presumably pineal melatonin exerts its varied regulatory functions via hypothalamic TRH.
Pierpaoli
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W
Institute for Biomedical Research, Quartino-Magadino, Switzerland.
Yi
C
C
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D004686:Encephalomyocarditis virus / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008550:Melatonin / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000502:physiology*; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000494:pharmacology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000502:physiology*; D013963:Thyroid Hormones / Q000097:blood; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000494:pharmacology; D013973:Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000276:immunology*
D013963:Thyroid Hormones; D013973:Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone; D013972:Thyrotropin; D011239:Prednisolone; D008550:Melatonin