Psycho-Neuro-Endocrine-Immunology: A Role for Melatonin in This New Paradigm

Abstract

Psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology is the area of study of the intimate relationship between immune, physical, emotional, and psychological aspects. This new way of studying the human body and its diseases was initiated in the last century’s first decades. However, the molecules that participate in the communication between the immune, endocrine, and neurological systems are still being discovered. This paper aims to describe the development of psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology, its scopes, limitations in actual medicine, and the extent of melatonin within it.

The Potential of Integrative Cancer Treatment Using Melatonin and the Challenge of Heterogeneity in Population-Based Studies: A Case Report of Colon Cancer and a Literature Review

“…The anticancer potential of Mel has been shown in many experimental works [16,17,115,116]. The mechanisms of antitumor activity of Mel are associated with pleiotropic effects on cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment, including the induction of apoptosis; anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic, antiproliferative, and antimetastatic action; and the regulation of the immune and psychoneuroendocrine systems [33,71,104,115,[117][118][119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128].…”

Mitochondria: It is all about energy

“…Many protective mechanisms against neuroinflammation have been attributed to melatonin functioning. Autocrine melatonin switches immune cells from a pro-inflammatory (M1) to an anti-inflammatory (M2) phenotype and produces a change in reactivity from cellular to humoral ( Carrillo-vico et al, 2013 ; Hardeland et al, 2015 ; Chen et al, 2020a ; Hardeland, 2021 ; Bitzer-Quintero et al, 2022 ). Besides the switch in phenotype, melatonin interacts in multiple ways with microglia.…”

“…Besides the switch in phenotype, melatonin interacts in multiple ways with microglia. It acts as a protector and an antioxidant and, by this means, inhibits processes that cause, promote, or propagate oxidative stress and neurodegeneration, resulting in excitatory overactivity, toxicological aggressions, viral and bacterial infections, and inflammation ( Carrillo-vico et al, 2013 ; Hardeland et al, 2015 ; Chen et al, 2020a ; Hardeland, 2021 ; Bitzer-Quintero et al, 2022 ).…”

Neuro-Vulnerability in Energy Metabolism Regulation: A Comprehensive Narrative Review

“…Currently, it is known that the cellular, endocrine, immune, and nervous regulatory systems form a unitary system that is maintained and interconnected by neuropeptides-small proteins that have a neurotransmitter function and that are also called polypeptides and that normally act through G protein-coupled receptors [88]. There are more than 100 identified neuropeptides with neurotransmitter functions that are associated with modulation of the sleep-wake cycle, feeding, pain and analgesia, learning, memory, and energy balance [89].…”