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Twenty Years of Study on Effects of Pineal Peptide Preparation: Epithalamin in Experimental Gerontology and Oncology
Author(s) -
ANISIMOV V. N.,
KHAVINSON V. KH.,
MOROZOV V. G.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1994.tb56853.x
Subject(s) - medicine , oncology
During the last decade a number of reports have appeared in the literature on a regulatory role of the pineal gland in aging and cancer development,'-' in which the modulating function of the pineal gland on neuroendocrine and immune system has been shown to be altered in aging6,' and tumor growth.8-" Pinealectomy of rats was followed by reduction of their life span'* and by stimulation of tumor d e v e l ~ p m e n t . ~ . ' ~ The administration of the pineal hormone melatonin into old mice or the grafting of pineal glands from young donors into the thymuses of old mice prolongs their life span.I4 There is also evidence of an antitumor effect of melatonin.x-'O Most investigators have invoked melatonin as the primary mediator of the endocrine capabilities of the pineal gland. However, there is evidence that some of the effects of the pineal gland may be a result of pineal peptide secretion." It has been shown that some crude peptide extracts or purified peptides isolated from the pineal gland have antigonadotropic, metabolic and antitumor activity.'0,".'6-1y In 1955 Parhon?" reported on the life-span prolonging effect of a pineal extract in old rats. No details were given on the method of pineal extraction or on the experiment. In 1973 the first evidence was published that administration of the low-molecular-weight pineal peptide extract (commercial form was named later as Epithalamin) was followed by restoration of the estrus cycle in old female rats with persistent estrus syndrome and by lowering of the threshold of sensitivity of the hypothalamo-pituitary complex to feedback inhibition by estrogens in old animals.?' Since this work, the effect ofepithalamin on the function of the reproductive, endocrine, neuroendocrine and immune systems was systematically studied in our own and our colleagues' experiments. There was shown a high biological activity of epithalamin. Long-term treatment with the preparation prolongs the life span of animals, slows down the aging of the reproductive system, improves the parameters of immune functions and inhibits the development of spontaneous tumors induced by some chemicals or X-irradiation and transplanted tumor^.',^,^*-^^ In the present paper the results of twenty years of study of the biological effects of epithalamin, mainly in experimental gerontology and oncology, are summarized.