Melatonin Protects Against Nickel-Induced Neurotoxicity in Vitro by Reducing Oxidative Stress and Maintaining Mitochondrial Function

Replacement Stress Article:

I chose this article because our research group wants to look at ways to reduce stress instead of inducing stress to an already stressed out population of college students. There is an increase of nickel in the modern world. It has been found that nickel could have potentially dangerous effects on human health. Two types of nerve cells were used in this study: primary cortical neurons and mouse neuroblastoma cell lines. The cells were obtained by dissecting mice brains, then placing the cells in petri dishes. Prior to nickel treatment, nerve cells were pretreated with melatonin for two hours. After the melatonin treatment, nerve cells were exposed to different concentrations of a nickel chloride solution.  In order to obtain clear measurements of the mitochondria, red and green florescent colors were used to determine how protective melatonin is against nickel in the mice brains. The protective effects of melatonin against nickel-induced oxidative stress were confirmed. There are a high amount of nickel-containing products in our society. This study found that because of this hazard of nickel in the environment, it inevitably causes more serious problems to human health at all stages, especially in vitro. It is reported that the nervous system is one of the susceptible organs of nickel toxicity. In different types of nerve cells in vitro, experimental evidence showed that nickel inhibited cell growth. The beneficial effects of melatonin on reducing the neurotoxicity of nickel may be attributable to its multiple roles in reducing oxidative stress and maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis. Melatonin is capable of crossing the blood–brain barrier very quickly and gathering in high concentrations in every neuronal compartment in the brain. So, it can easily be administered either orally or intravenously injected with no need to apply the treatment directly into the brain. This research shows that melatonin may be the best way to prevent damage to your body by heavy metals in the atmosphere.

Shang-Cheng, X., Min-Di, H., Min, Z., Yan-Wen, Z., Yuan, W., Lu, Y., & ... Zhou, Z. (2010). Melatonin protects against Nickel-induced neurotoxicity in vitro by reducing oxidative stress and maintaining mitochondrial function. Journal of Pineal Research, 49(1), 86-94. doi:10.1111/j.1600-079X.2010.00770.x

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