PROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF MELATONIN ON LUNG INJURIES INDUCED BY CIGARETTE SMOKE IN WISTAR ALBINO RATS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69656/pjp.v21i1.1732Keywords:
Lung, Melatonin, Cigarette smoking, COPDAbstract
Background: The most important risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and carcinoma of lung is cigarette smoking, mainly in habitual smokers. Cigarette smoke causes lung damage because it is directly inhaled into the lungs and reaches the alveoli. It is because of the deposition of its inhaled toxic particulate components and gases in the airways and alveoli that are responsible of inflammation and chronic obstruction. Methods: In this comparative experimental research, 60 Albino Wister rats were used and evaluated for the toxic effects of cigarette smoke and the protective effects of Melatonin on rat’s lungs simultaneously. Also, we estimated the protective effects of Melatonin on markers of inflammation and Fibrinogen serologically among negative and positive control groups and melatonin- treatment and post-treatment groups. Results: According to the results of the present study, it is confirmed that melatonin counterbalances the cigarette smoke (CS)-induced lung injuries in both treatment and post-treatment groups, though its effects on the treatment group exposed to cigarette smoke for only one month were slightly stronger than post-treatment group exposed to cigarette smoke for two months. The serological markers of inflammation CRP (C-reactive protein) and fibrinogen were successfully reduced with melatonin administration in both treatment and post-treatment group. Conclusion: In conclusion, the present study proves that melatonin has potent anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, immune-regulatory, and vaso-protective properties against cigarette smoke-induced lung damage in Wistar albino rats, confirmed both histopathologically and serologically.
Pak J Physiol 2025;21(1):17–20, DOI: https://doi.org/10.69656/pjp.v21i1.1732
Downloads
References
Shin IS, Shin NR, Park JW, Jeon CM, Hong JM, Kwon OK, et al. Melatonin attenuates neutrophil inflammation and mucus secretion in cigarette smoke?induced chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases via the suppression of Erk?Sp1 signaling. J Pineal Res 2015;58(1):50–60.
Li Y, Hecht SS. Carcinogenic components of tobacco and tobacco smoke: A 2022 update. Food Chem Toxicol 2022,165:113179.
Jalili C, Tabatabaei H, Kakaberiei S, Roshankhah S, Salahshoor MR. Protective role of Crocin against nicotine-induced damages on male mice liver. Int J Prev Med 2015;6:92.
Naserzadeh P, Hosseini MJ, Arbabi S, Pourahmad J. A comparison of toxicity mechanisms of cigarette smoke on isolated mitochondria obtained from rat liver and skin. Iran J Pharm Res 2015;14(1):271–7.
Zhang JJ, Meng X, Li Y, Zhou Y, Xu DP, Li S, et al. Effects of melatonin on liver injuries and diseases. Int J Mol Sci 2017;18(4):673.
Puig Á, Rancan L, Paredes SD, Carrasco A, Escames G, Vara E, et al. Melatonin decreases the expression of inflammation and apoptosis markers in the lung of a senescence-accelerated mice model. Exp Gerontol 2016;75:1–7.
Ma Z, Yang Y, Fan C, Han J, Wang D, Di S, et al. Melatonin as a potential anticarcinogen for non-small-cell lung cancer. Oncotarget 2016;7(29):46768.
Shin NR, Park JW, Lee IC, Ko JW, Park SH, Kim JS, et al. Melatonin suppresses fibrotic responses induced by cigarette smoke via downregulation of TGF-?1. Oncotarget 2017;8(56):95692.
Unlu M, Fidan F, Sezer M, Tetik L, Sahin O, Esme H, et al. Effects of melatonin on the oxidant/antioxidant status and lung histopathology in rabbits exposed to cigarette smoke. Respirology 2006;11(4):422–8.
Esteban-Zubero E, Alatorre-Jiménez MA, López-Pingarrón L, Reyes-Gonzales MC, Almeida-Souza P, Cantín-Golet A, et al. Melatonin’s role in preventing toxin-related and sepsis-mediated hepatic damage: A review. Pharmacol Res 2016;105:108–20.
Andersen LP, Gögenur I, Rosenberg J, Reiter RJ. The safety of melatonin in humans. Clin Drug Investig 2016;36(3):169–75.
Ambade VN, Sontakke AN, Barthwal MS, Tyagi R, Basannar DR. Diagnostic utility of biomarkers in COPD. Respir Care 2015;60(12):1729–4.
Martins-da-Silva AS, Torales J, Becker RFV, Moura HF, Waisman Campos M, Fidalgo TM, et al. Tobacco growing and tobacco use. Int Rev Psychiatry 2022;34(1):51–8.
Prochaska JJ, Benowitz NL. Current advances in research in treatment and recovery: Nicotine addiction. Sci Adv 2019;5(10): eaay9763.
AlMulla A, Hassan-Yassoub N, Fu D, El-Awa F, Alebshehy R, Ismail M, et al. Smoking cessation services in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Highlights and findings from the WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2019. East Mediterr Health J 2020;26(1):110–5.
Li X, Luo Y, Jiang X, Zhang H, Zhu F, Hu S, et al. Chemical analysis and simulated pyrolysis of tobacco heating system 2.2 compared to conventional cigarettes. Nicotine Tob Res 2019;21(1):111–8.
Shein M, Jeschke G. Comparison of free radical levels in the aerosol from conventional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, and heat-not-burn tobacco products. Chem Res Toxicol 2019;32(6):1289–98.
Masud H, Oyebode O. Inequalities in smoking prevalence: a missed opportunity for tobacco control in Pakistan. J Public Health 2018;40(2):271–8.
Li FJ, Surolia R, Singh P, Dsouza KG, Stephens CT, Wang Z, et al. Fibrinogen mediates cadmium-induced macrophage activation and serves as a predictor of cadmium exposure in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2022;322(4): L593–606.
Alrouji M, Manouchehrinia A, Gran B, Constantinescu CS. Effects of cigarette smoke on immunity, neuroinflammation and multiple sclerosis. J Neuroimmunol 2019;329:24–34.
Hou W, Hu S, Li C, Ma H, Wang Q, Meng G, et al. Cigarette smoke induced lung barrier dysfunction, EMT, and tissue remodeling: a possible link between COPD and lung cancer. Biomed Res Int 2019;2019:2025636.
Kumar A, Cherian SV, Vassallo R, Eunhee SY, Ryu JH. Current concepts in pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of smoking-related interstitial lung diseases. Chest 2018;154(2):394–408.
Baruk?i? I. Smoking of tobacco is the cause of human lung cancer. J Drug Delivery Ther 2019;9(1-S):148–60.
Reiter RJ, Mayo JC, Tan DX, Sainz RM, Alatorre?Jimenez M, Qin L. Melatonin as an antioxidant: under promises but over delivers. J Pineal Res 2016;61(3):253–78.
Wang Z, Ni L, Wang J, Lu C, Ren M, Han W, et al. The protective effect of melatonin on smoke?induced vascular injury in rats and humans: a randomized controlled trial. J Pineal Res 2016;60(2):217–27.
Wang X, Bian Y, Zhang R, Liu X, Ni L, Ma B, et al. Melatonin alleviates cigarette smoke-induced endothelial cell pyroptosis through inhibiting ROS/NLRP3 axis. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2019;519(2):402–8.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Kiran Khan, Farkhunda Nadeem, Bibi Maria Shah, Syed Muhammad Dawood, Bushra Sajid, Usman Hyder
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The author(s) retain the Copyrights and allow their publication in Pakistan Journal of Physiology, Pak J Physiol, PJP to be FREE for research and academic purposes. It can be downloaded and stored, printed, presented, projected, cited and quoted with full reference of, and acknowledgement to the author(s) and the PJP. The contents are published with an international CC-BY-ND-4.0 License.
