摘要
Melatonin is a hormone with endocrine, paracrine andautocrine actions. It is involved in the regulation of multiple functions, including the control of the gastroin-testinal (GI) system under physiological and pathophys-iological conditions. Since the gut contains at least 400times more melatonin than the pineal gland, a reviewof the functional importance of melatonin in the gutseems useful, especially in the context of recent clinicaltrials. Melatonin exerts its physiological effects throughspecific membrane receptors, named melatonin-1 re-ceptor (MT1), MT2 and MT3. These receptors can befound in the gut and their involvement in the regulationof GI motility, inflammation and pain has been reportedin numerous basic and clinical studies. Stable levels ofmelatonin in the lower gut that are unchanged follow-ing a pinealectomy suggest local synthesis and, further more, implicate physiological importance of endogenous melatonin in the GI tract. Presently, only a small number of human studies report possible beneficial and also possible harmful effects of melatonin in case reports and clinical trials. These human studies include patients with lower GI diseases, especially patients with irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer. In this review, we summarize the presently available information on melatonin effects in the lower gut and discuss available in vitro and in vivo data. We furthermore aim to evaluate whether melatonin may be useful in future treatment of symptoms or diseases involving the lower gut.
Melatonin is a hormone with endocrine, paracrine andautocrine actions. It is involved in the regulation of multiple functions, including the control of the gastroin-testinal （GI） system under physiological and pathophys-iological conditions. Since the gut contains at least 400times more melatonin than the pineal gland, a reviewof the functional importance of melatonin in the gutseems useful, especially in the context of recent clinicaltrials. Melatonin exerts its physiological effects throughspecific membrane receptors, named melatonin-1 re-ceptor （MT1）, MT2 and MT3. These receptors can befound in the gut and their involvement in the regulationof GI motility, inflammation and pain has been reportedin numerous basic and clinical studies. Stable levels ofmelatonin in the lower gut that are unchanged follow-ing a pinealectomy suggest local synthesis and, further more, implicate physiological importance of endogenous melatonin in the GI tract. Presently, only a small number of human studies report possible beneficial and also possible harmful effects of melatonin in case reports and clinical trials. These human studies include patients with lower GI diseases, especially patients with irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer. In this review, we summarize the presently available information on melatonin effects in the lower gut and discuss available in vitro and in vivo data. We furthermore aim to evaluate whether melatonin may be useful in future treatment of symptoms or diseases involving the lower gut.
