How Melatonin Works
Melatonin improves sleep. But how?
Sergey Syrov, XX2 century
Melatonin is used as a sleep-enhancing dietary supplement. It is also used when it is necessary to survive a sharp change of time zones. It works – but how? For a long time there was no answer.
Within the walls of the Medical Department of the University of Connecticut (University of Connecticut Health Center, UConn Health), a study was conducted revealing the mechanisms of melatonin in the nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans worms. The authors of the work believe that melatonin acts in a similar way in the human body.
The research materials are published in PNAS (Niu et al., Melatonin promotes sleep by activating the BK channel in C.elegans).
It is known that melatonin in the brain binds to melatonin receptors – MT1 and MT2. But what happens after that was unclear. Neurophysiologists Zhao-Wen Wang (Zhao-Wen Wang) and Bojun Chen (Bojun Chen) have determined that in the body of a model animal, C.elegans, the connection of melatonin with MT1 receptors opens potassium channels with high conductivity – we are talking about the so-called VK channel.
During the search for factors related to the BK channel, Chen's laboratory found that the melatonin receptor is needed to activate the BK channel. And the main function of the BK channel in neurons is to limit the release of neurotransmitters, chemicals used by neurons to communicate with each other.
It turned out that melatonin promotes the sleep of worms by activating the BK channel through the melatonin receptor. Worms that have suppressed any part of the mechanism – melatonin, its receptor or BK channel, sleep less. And yes, even such relatively simple animals sleep, and their sleep is somewhat similar to the sleep of mammals. The researchers plan to find out whether the melatonin–MT1–BK bond persists in mice. The BK channel is involved in a variety of bodily events, from epilepsy to high blood pressure. By learning more about the relationship between the BK channel, sleep and physiological changes, the researchers hope not only to better understand the work of melatonin, but also to help people suffering from diseases associated with the BK channel.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru