title: Melatonin potentiates running wheel-induced neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of adult C3H/HeN mice hippocampus.
abstract: This study assessed the role of melatonin in modulating running wheel(RW)-induced hippocampal neurogenesis in adult C3H/HeN mice. Chronic melatonin (0.02 mg/mL, oral for 12 days) treatment did not affect cell proliferation or cell survival determined by the number of BrdU-positive cells in dentate gyrus of mice with access to fixed wheel (FW). RW activity significantly increased cell proliferation [RW (n = 8) versus FW (n = 6): dorsal, 199 ± 18 versus 125 ± 12, P < 0.01; ventral, 211 ± 15 versus 123 ± 13, P < 0.01] and newborn cell survival [RW (n = 7) versus FW (n = 8): dorsal, 45 ± 8.5 versus 15 ± 1.8, P < 0.01; ventral, 48 ± 8.1 versus 15 ± 1.4)] in the dorsal and ventral dentate gyrus. Oral melatonin treatment further potentiated RW activity-induced cell survival in both areas of the dentate gyrus [melatonin (n = 10) versus vehicle (n = 7): dorsal, 63 ± 5.4 versus 45 ± 8.5 P < 0.05; ventral, 75 ± 7.9 versus 48 ± 8.1, P < 0.01] and neurogenesis [melatonin (n = 8) versus vehicle (n = 8): dorsal, 46 ± 3.4, versus 34 ± 4.5, P < 0.05; ventral, 41 ± 3.4 versus 25 ± 2.4, P < 0.01]. We conclude that melatonin potentiates RW-induced hippocampal neurogenesis by enhancing neuronal survival suggesting that the combination of physical exercise and melatonin may be an effective treatment for diseases affecting the hippocampus neurogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA.
authors.forename: Jiabei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Kathleen C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Somera-Molina
authors.forename: Randall L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Hudson
authors.forename: Margarita L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Dubocovich
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D018891:Dentate Gyrus / Q000166:cytology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008550:Melatonin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051379:Mice; D009437:Neuralgia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D008550:Melatonin