Abstract
In this study we evaluated the effect of long-term melatonin (MEL) treatment on the cytotoxic activity and number of natural killer (NK) cells and the proliferative response of spleen lymphocytes to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) or interleukin-2 (IL-2) in old mice. Seventeen-eighteen month-old Balb/c mice were supplemented with MEL (40-50μg/day/mouse) and sacrificed after eight months. The MEL supplementation was unable to recover the low levels of both endogenous and IL-2-induced NK cell activity found in old untreated mice. Also the NK cell number was unaffected by MEL treatment. The spleen lymphocyte proliferative response to both PHA and IL-2 was not different in old MEL-treated compared to old untreated mice. These results indicate that long-term MEL supplementation does not recover the age-related deterioration of NK cell activity and lymphocyte proliferative capacity.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 857-864 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Life Sciences |
Volume | 61 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 25 1997 |
Keywords
- Aging
- Lymphocyte proliferation
- Melatonin
- Mice
- Natural killer cells
- Neuroimmunomodulation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pharmacology