Pineal control of aging: effect of melatonin and pineal grafting on aging mice.
Dark-cycle, night administration of the pineal hormone melatonin in drinking water to aging mice (15 months of age) prolongs survival of BALB/c females from 23.8 to 28.1 months and preserves aspects of their youthful state. Similar results were seen in New Zealand Black females beginning at 5 months and C57BL/6 males beginning at 19 months. As melatonin is produced in circadian fashion from the pineal, we grafted pineals from young 3- to 4-month-old donors into the thymus of 20-month-old syngeneic C57BL/6 male recipients, and a 12% increase in survival was induced. Prolongation of survival was also seen on pineal transplant to the thymus in C57BL/6, BALB/cJ, and hybrid female mice at 16, 19, and 22 months. In all studies, the endogenous pineal of grafted mice was left in situ. Pineal grafted aged mice display a remarkable maintenance of thymic structure and cellularity. Preservation of T-cell-mediated function, despite age, as measured by response to oxazolone is seen. Other evidence suggests that melatonin and/or pineal-related factors could produce their effects through an influence on thyroid function. These data indicate that pineal influences have a place in the physiologic regulation of aging.
Pierpaoli
W
W
Biancalana-Masera Foundation for the Aged (Convention I.N.R.C.A. and University of Ancona), Neuroimmunomodulation Laboratory, Italy.
Regelson
W
W
D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001683:Biological Clocks; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008550:Melatonin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000637:transplantation; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D016042:Transplantation, Heterotopic; D014185:Transplantation, Isogeneic
D008550:Melatonin