title: Inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis by melatonin in human myeloid HL-60 cells.
abstract: Melatonin is an indoleamine that is synthesized in the pineal gland and has an extensive repertoire of biological activities. In the present study, we found that melatonin reduced the growth of the human myeloid leukemia cells HL-60, inhibiting progression from G(1) to S phase of the cell cycle and increasing apoptotic cell death. Furthermore, melatonin treatment elevated cytochrome c release from mitochondria and augmented caspase-3 and caspase-9 activities. Upregulation of Bax and downregulation of Bcl-2 was also observed upon melatonin treatment. The effects of melatonin were found not to be mediated by membrane receptors for the indoleamine. Together, our results suggest that melatonin reduces the viability of HL-60 cells via induction of apoptosis primarily through regulation of Bax/Bcl-2 expression.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Biología Molecular y Fisiología, Centro de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rubio
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Estévez
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cabrera
authors.forename: Russel J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Reiter
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Loro
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Quintana
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D006131:Growth Inhibitors / Q000502:physiology*; D018922:HL-60 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008550:Melatonin / Q000502:physiology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D022423:Myeloid Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D006131:Growth Inhibitors; D008550:Melatonin