The Effects of the Neurohormone Melatonin on Avian Macrophage Cell Function
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Authors
McKenna, Sarah J.
Issue Date
1996
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Within the past year the neurohormone melatonin has been popularized as
the newest wonder drug. Claims of its miracles range from better sleep at night
to enhancing the immune system. Melatonin has been shown to activate
macrophage cells, which certainly could enhance immune function. The purpose
of this experiment was two fold. First, a cytotoxicity study was conducted to
determine if the concentrations of melatonin tested were toxic to the avian
macrophage cell line, MQ-NCSU. Secondly, a phagocytosis assay was conducted
to determine how well these macrophage cells phagocytose either sheep red
blood cells (SRBC) or Escherichia coli (E. coli) after being exposed to melatonin.
The concentrations of melatonin tested were 250,100, 50, and 10 picograms/mL,
which are representative of biological levels. None of the concentrations of
melatonin tested were shown to be toxic. The results of the phagocytosis assays
also were negative. Melatonin was not shown to enhance the ability of MQ-NCSU
macrophage cells to phagocytose either SRBC or E. coli. Although these
results do not support the claim that melatonin itself directly enhances this
portion of the immune system, these results can be explained by the theory that
melatonin acts indirectly through a system of cell-derived opioid peptides. If
other chemical mediators are necessary to produce immunoenhancement,
melatonin would be expected to be ineffective in an in vitro study such as this
one.
Description
v, 23 p.
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo College
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder.