Beneficial effect of melatonin treatment on inflammation, apoptosis and oxidative stress on pancreas of a senescence accelerated mice model.

This study has investigated the effect of aging on parameters of inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis in pancreas obtained from two types of male mice models: senescence-accelerated prone (SAMP8) and resistant mice (SAMR1). Animals of 2 (young) and 10 months of age (old) were used (n = 64). The influence of the administration of melatonin in the drinking water for one month at two different dosages (1 and 10mg/(kg day) on old SAMP8 mice on these parameters was also studied. SAMP8 mice showed with age a significant increase in the relative expression of pancreatic genes involved in inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis. Furthermore the protein expression of several NFκB subunits was also enhanced. On the contrary aged SAMR1 mice did not show significant increases in these parameters. Melatonin administration to SAMP8 mice was able to reduce these age related alterations at the two used dosages.