The potential use of melatonin to treat protozoan parasitic infections: A review.

The potential use of melatonin to treat protozoan parasitic infections: A review. Biomed Pharmacother. 2017 Nov 07;97:948-957 Authors: Daryani A, Montazeri M, Pagheh AS, Sharif M, Sarvi S, Hosseinzadeh A, Reiter RJ, Hadighi R, Joghataei MT, Ghaznavi H, Mehrzadi S Abstract Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is a circadian hormone produced in vertebrates by the pineal gland and other organs. Melatonin is believed to influence immune cells leading to modulation of the proliferative response of stimulated lymphocytes as well as cytokine production. Due to the antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects of melatonin, it is suggested that this molecule could be a therapeutic alternative agent to fight bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections by a variety of mechanisms. Herein, we review the effects of melatonin on the cell biology of protozoan parasites and host's immune response. In toxoplasmosis, African trypanosomiasis and Chagas' disease, melatonin enhances host's immune response against the parasite via regulating the secretion of inflammatory mediators. In amoebiasis, melatonin reduces the amoebic lesions as well as increasing the leukophagocytosis and the number of dead amoebae. In giardiasis, serum melatonin levels are elevated in these patients; this suggests a positive correlation between the level of melatonin and phagocytic activity in the G. duodenalis infected patients, possibly related to melatonin's immunomodulatory ef...
Source: Biomedicine and pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine and pharmacotherapie - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: Biomed Pharmacother Source Type: research