®®®® SIIA Público

Título del libro: Melatonin: Production, Functions And Benefits
Título del capítulo: Synchronization of the circadian rhythms by melatonin in vertebrate and invertebrate species

Autores UNAM:
RAMON ALVARADO ALVAREZ; EDGAR FLORES SOTO; LUIS MANUEL MONTAÑO RAMIREZ; ARNOLDO AQUINO GALVEZ; HECTOR SOLIS CHAGOYAN;
Autores externos:

Idioma:

Año de publicación:
2020
Palabras clave:

Circadian rhythms; Crayfish; Invertebrates; Melatonin; Non-photic synchronizer; Vertebrates


Resumen:

Melatonin is a metabolite derived from the essential amino acid tryptophan. This biologically active indoleamine is broadly synthesized from bacteria to vertebrates. In animal phyla, melatonin signaling pathways to induce cellular responses seem to be highly conserved. Moreover, this metabolite has been considered as an autocoid, a paracoid or a hormone that regulates a myriad of functions acting as a modulator of cell proliferation and/or differentiation, a neuro-and immunomodulator, an oncostatic molecule, a chonobiotic agent, or as a free-radical scavenger and an overall modulator of the cellular redox state. Among these functions, we are particularly interested in the role of melatonin in the synchronization of circadian rhythms. Both melatonin synthesis and release follow a circadian rhythm and reach a peak at the scotophase, so its own oscillation is synchronized by a photoperiodic cue. In this regard, nocturnal circulating melatonin transmits this environmental information to the pacemaker and peripheral circadian oscillators that express the melatonin membrane receptors. By these means, melatonin signal reinforces the synchronization process and the coupling of oscillators that constitute the circadian system. In this chapter, the role of melatonin as a regulator of the synchronization process in vertebrates and invertebrates is analyzed to support the hypothesis that in invertebrates, the daily increase of melatonin acts on the circadian pacemaker to reinforce the adjustment of its period and phase regarding photoperiod, but also this indoleamine might act on peripheral nocturnal or diurnal oscillators to directly modify their activity level contributing also by this way with the establishment of the temporal organization of the circadian system. © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.


Entidades citadas de la UNAM: