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Molecular mechanisms of melatonin’s inhibitory actions on breast cancers

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Abstract

Melatonin is involved in many physiological functions and it plays an important role in many pathological processes as well. Melatonin has been shown to reduce the incidence of experimentally induced cancers and can significantly inhibit the growth of some human tumors, namely hormone-dependent cancers. The anticancer effects of melatonin have been observed in breast cancer, both in in vivo with models of chemically induced rat mammary tumors, and in vitro studies on human breast cancer cell lines. Melatonin acts at different physiological levels and its antitumoral properties are supported by a set of complex, different mechanisms of action, involving apoptosis activation, inhibition of proliferation, and cell differentiation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy

    Sara Proietti

  2. Department of Surgery “P.Valdoni”, University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy

    Sara Proietti & Alessandra Cucina

  3. Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Russel J. Reiter

  4. Systems Biology Group Laboratory, Department of Experimental Medicine, University “La Sapienza”, 14-16, Via Antonio Scarpa, Rome, 00161, Italy

    Mariano Bizzarri

Authors
  1. Sara Proietti
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  2. Alessandra Cucina
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  3. Russel J. Reiter
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  4. Mariano Bizzarri
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mariano Bizzarri.

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Proietti, S., Cucina, A., Reiter, R.J. et al. Molecular mechanisms of melatonin’s inhibitory actions on breast cancers. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 70, 2139–2157 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-012-1161-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-012-1161-8

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