Immune-Pineal Axis: Integrating the Biology of Time into Physiological and Pathological Conditions

Project description

Recent studies have shown how the coordination of pineal and extra-pineal melatonin production regulates innate and acquired immune responses. We show that under normal conditions the nocturnal melatonin peak participates in the surveillance system, making it difficult for leucocytes to migrate to healthy tissues. The reduction of nocturnal melatonin synthesis facilitates the assembly of an inflammatory response. Already in the recovery phase of the inflammatory response, or during processes of chronic inflammation corticosteroids potentiate the production of melatonin. We and others have demonstrated that the mono and polymorphonuclear cells and microglia and activated astroglia produce melatonin, and this acts in a paracrine or autocrine manner by inhibiting the inflammatory response.

The objective of the present theme is to broaden the understanding of this relationship between chronobiology and defense considering:

1 - Molecular bases that coordinate the Pineal-Immune Axis

2 - Application of the concept of the pineal-immune axis in animal models. We will start by the models of inflammation induced by obesity, air pollution and parasitosis. We may include other models over the next four years.

3 – Clinical application of the concept of immune-pineal axis in the discrimination of aggressiveness / invasiveness of human gliomas and in predicting the effectiveness of treatment with antidepressants.