Melatonin protects mitochondria from aging
Russian scientists have slowed down the aging of cells with the help of sleep hormone
Biologists from the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics of the Russian Academy of Sciences have found a way to slow down the aging of the body by restoring the normal operation of the "power stations" of cells using the hormone melatonin, according to an article published in the journal Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (Baburina a et al., 2',3'-Cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase as a messenger of protection of the mitochondrial function during melatonin treatment in aging).
"In our experiments on mitochondria isolated from rat liver, we have shown that long-term intake of melatonin helps to close the pores in mitochondria and prevents the escape of enzymes. The constant intake of melatonin, even in old animals, improves the functions of mitochondria," the authors of the discovery say, whose words are transmitted by the press service of the ITEB RAS.
Mitochondria, the "energy stations" of cells with their own DNA, play a key role in the aging process. When they do not cope well with their functions, a chronic lack of "energy currency", ATP molecules, occurs in the cells, which causes such senile diseases as Alzheimer's disease and diabetes. Until now, it was believed that these diseases arise due to mutations in the DNA of mitochondria that cannot be reversed.
Olga Krestinina from The Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Pushchino and her colleagues at the Institute found out that this process is not associated with mutations, but with disorders in the functioning of mitochondrial pores, and realized that it can be slowed down with the help of one of the main hormones of the body – melatonin.
Melatonin regulates the daily routine of humans and other living beings, responsible for the onset of sleep and awakening. In addition, melatonin is a strong antioxidant that can neutralize aggressive molecules inside cells. The main source and "consumer" of melatonin is the brain, but recent experiments show that this hormone is produced in other parts of the body.
Krestinina and her colleagues drew attention to one well-known property of melatonin: its concentration in the human body gradually decreases with age, which, in particular, explains why older people do not sleep as much as young people. This simple thought led scientists to test how the behavior of young and elderly mitochondria will change with an increase in the concentration of this hormone.
As biologists explain, with the age of the "power station" cells become more "leaky" – pores appear in them, through which the mitochondria leave the "extra" calcium ions that accumulate inside them due to the fact that elderly mitochondria cope worse with stress and the appearance of aggressive molecules within their limits. This process eventually leads to the destruction of the mitochondria and the launch of a self-destruction program of the cell.
Russian scientists have suggested that the process can be slowed down if a substance is delivered to the mitochondria that would suppress aggressive molecules and normalize the level of ions inside them. They chose melatonin for the role of such a substance, suggesting that a decrease in its concentration in old age can cause all or at least part of the problems associated with mitochondria.
As experiments on rat cells and elderly animals have shown, the addition of melatonin really protects mitochondria from "leaking" and preserves critical enzymes inside them that are responsible for the assembly cycle of ATP molecules inside mitochondria and prevent the appearance of "unnecessary" molecules that interfere with ion migration. As a result, mitochondria "swelled" and died much more slowly than in a normal situation.
According to the press service, this work of scientists from ITEB is only a small part of the project aimed at developing drugs that act on mitochondria. Such medicines will help fight heart and liver diseases and will become one of the components for anti-cancer drugs, as well as help people overcome the effects of old age and stress.
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09.02.2017