Serum melatonin and hippocampus MT1 overexpression in asthmatic rat models / 中国药理学通报

ABSTRACT

Aim ToinvestigatetheexpressionofMT1 in the hippocampus and serum melatonin in the asth-matic rats, and explore the mechanism in the develop-mentofasthma.Methods SixtyadultSDratswere randomly divided into two groups control group ( n=20 ) and asthma group ( n=40 ) . Asthma rat model was established by sensitization and stimulation with ovalbumin ( OVA ) . Immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and reverse transcription PCR ( RT-PCR ) were used to evaluate the expression of MT1 in hippocam-pus. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA ) was used to detect serum melatonin level. Results TheexpressionofMT1inhippocampusatgeneand protein levels were significantly elevated in asthmatic group ( P 0.05).Conclusions MelatoninandMT1maybe involved in the pathogenesis of asthma. The up-regula-tion of MT1 in hippocampus with time-dependent pat-tern may be a compensatory response to decreased pe-ripheral melatonin levels for augmenting melatoninˊs neuroprotective and neuroimmunomodulatory effects a-gainst inflammatory reaction and stress in asthma.