title: Morphofunctional and signaling molecules overlap of the pineal gland and thymus: role and significance in aging.
abstract: Deficits in neuroendocrine-immune system functioning, including alterations in pineal and thymic glands, contribute to aging-associated diseases. This study looks at ageing-associated alterations in pineal and thymic gland functioning evaluating common signaling molecules present in both human and animal pinealocytes and thymocytes: endocrine cell markers (melatonin, serotonin, pCREB, AANAT, CGRP, VIP, chromogranin Ð); cell renovation markers (p53, AIF, Ki67), matrix metalloproteinases (MMP2, MMP9) and lymphocytes markers (CD4, CD5, CD8, CD20). Pineal melatonin is decreased, as is one of the melatonin pathway synthesis enzymes in the thymic gland. A further similarity is the increased MMPs levels evident over age in both glands. Significant differences are evident in cell renovation processes, which deteriorate more quickly in the aged thymus versus the pineal gland. Decreases in the number of pineal B-cells and thymic T-cells were also observed over aging. Collected data indicate that cellular involution of the pineal gland and thymus show many commonalities, but also significant changes in aging-associated proteins. It is proposed that such ageing-associated alterations in these two glands provide novel pharmaceutical targets for the wide array of medical conditions that are more likely to emerge over the course of ageing.
authors.affiliation: Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russian Federation, Russia.
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Paltsev
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Ott Institute of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductology, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, Russia.|Laboratory of Cell Biology and Pathology, Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, Russia.
authors.forename: Victoria O
authors.initials: VO
authors.lastname: Polyakova
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Ott Institute of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductology, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, Russia.|Laboratory of Cell Biology and Pathology, Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, Russia.
authors.forename: Igor M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Kvetnoy
authors.affiliation: CRC Scotland and London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Ott Institute of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductology, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, Russia.
authors.forename: Tatiana V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Kvetnaia
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Ott Institute of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductology, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, Russia.
authors.forename: Natalia S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Linkova
authors.affiliation: Division of Immuhistochemistry, B.V. Petrovsky Russian Surgery Research Center, Moscow, Russian Federation, Russia.
authors.forename: Ekaterina M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Paltseva
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, Division of Internal Medicine and Chronobiology Unit, IRCCS Scientific Institute and Regional General Hospital "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", Opera di Padre Pio da Pietrelcina, San Giovanni Rotondo (FG), Italy.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rubino
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, Division of Internal Medicine and Chronobiology Unit, IRCCS Scientific Institute and Regional General Hospital "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", Opera di Padre Pio da Pietrelcina, San Giovanni Rotondo (FG), Italy.
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Cosmo
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, Division of Internal Medicine and Chronobiology Unit, IRCCS Scientific Institute and Regional General Hospital "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", Opera di Padre Pio da Pietrelcina, San Giovanni Rotondo (FG), Italy.
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Cata
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, Division of Internal Medicine and Chronobiology Unit, IRCCS Scientific Institute and Regional General Hospital "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", Opera di Padre Pio da Pietrelcina, San Giovanni Rotondo (FG), Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluigi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mazzoccoli
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Gerotarget; aging; melatonin; neuroendocrine-immune; pineal; thymus