Melatonin Potentiates Running Wheel-Induced Neurogenesis in the Dentate Gyrus of Adult C3H/HeN Mice Hippocampus

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http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jpi.12023/abstract

Abstract

This study assessed the role of melatonin in modulating Running Wheel-induced (RW) hippocampal neurogenesis in adult C3H/HeN mice. Chronic melatonin (0.02 mg/ml, oral for 12 days) treatment did not affect cell proliferation or cell survival determined by the number of BrdU positive cells in dentate gyrus of mice with access to fixed wheel (FW). RW activity significantly increased cell proliferation [RW (n=8) vs. FW (n=6): dorsal, 199 ± 18 vs. 125 ± 12, p < 0.01; ventral, 211 ± 15 vs. 123 ± 13, p < 0.01] and newborn cell survival [RW (n=7) vs. FW (n=8): dorsal, 45 ± 8.5 vs. 15 ± 1.8, p < 0.01; ventral, 48 ± 8.1 vs. 15 ± 1.4)] in the dorsal and ventral dentate gyrus. Oral melatonin treatment further potentiated RW activity-induced cell survival in both areas of the dentate gyrus [melatonin (n=10) vs. vehicle (n=7): dorsal, 63 ± 5.4 vs. 45 ± 8.5 p < 0.05; ventral, 75 ± 7.9 vs. 48 ± 8.1, p < 0.01] and neurogenesis [melatonin (n=8) vs. vehicle (n=8): dorsal, 46 ± 3.4, vs. 34 ± 4.5, p < 0.05; ventral, 41 ± 3.4 vs. 25 ± 2.4, p < 0.01]. We conclude that melatonin potentiates RW induced hippocampal neurogenesis by enhancing neuronal survival suggesting that the combination of physical exercise and melatonin may be an effective treatment for diseases affecting the hippocampus neurogenesis.