The pineal gland and cancer. I. Pinealectomy corrects congenital hormonal dysfunctions and prolongs life of cancer-prone C3H/He mice.
Hormonal derangements almost invariably anticipate and signal the onset of tumors. Chronic, nocturnal melatonin administration delays aging in normal strains of mice. On the contrary it promotes and accelerates the onset of tumors in the cancer-prone strain of C3H/He mice. Grafting of a young pineal gland into aging mice prolongs their longevity and maintains juvenile circadian hormonal functions while pinealectomy (Px) does the opposite. We investigated if Px in C3H/He mice would modify their congenitally deranged pituitary function and affect their longevity. It was found that contrarily to Px in normal mice, Px in C3H/He mice remarkably maintains juvenile night levels of thyroid hormones and lipids, preserves a cell-mediated immune response and significantly prolongs their life. The pineal gland and its pathology may be the key for understanding, not only the causes of metabolic aging, but also the origin of those congenital or progressive aging-related hormonal alterations preceding onset of all tumors and thus allow preventive corrective interventions with pineal-derived agents.
Bulian
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Jean Choay Institute for Biomedical Research, INTERBION Foundation for Basic Biomedical Research and CHRONOLIFE Inc., Via Industria, 16, CH-6826, Riva San Vitale, Switzerland. chrono@dial.eunet.ch
Pierpaoli
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D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D004700:Endocrine System Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000151:congenital* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed / Q000276:immunology; D008136:Longevity; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000502:physiology* / Q000601:surgery* / Q000637:transplantation; D010900:Pituitary Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000151:congenital / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000097:blood; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014284:Triiodothyronine / Q000097:blood
D014280:Triglycerides; D014284:Triiodothyronine; D002784:Cholesterol; D013974:Thyroxine