key: cord-0892610-rc6mw4il
authors: Niu, Ziru; Li, Rong
title: Clinical study of novel coronavirus pneumonia prevention by melatonin
date: 2020-09-08
journal: Reprod Biomed Online
DOI: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2020.09.003
sha: 79e25fd936deb0f428ee42ac626ed4af5aaedbf7
doc_id: 892610
cord_uid: rc6mw4il

nan

We thank Dr Tesarik for his correspondence (Tesarik, 2020) , stimulated by our recent publication on the potential long-term effects of COVID-19 disease on reproductive health (Li et al., 2020) .

Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) was first reported in 1958 (Lerner et al., 1958) .

Although studies on melatonin had already emerged, its function remained underestimated. The main role of melatonin is to mediate dark signals, with possible implications to stabilize circadian rhythms (Cardinali and Pevet, 1998) . Besides circadian regulation, melatonin may also be effective in the areas of immunomodulation, apoptotic, antioxidant, angiogenic, anticancer properties, anti-proliferative and anti-ageing (Saha et al., 2019) . Furthermore, melatonin has been demonstrated to play a role in antiviral therapy, for example in infections of encephalitis virus (Silvestri and Rossi, 2013 ) and respiratory syncytial virus (Huang et al., 2010) .

Many recent studies also suggest its potential role in treating COVID-19 due to its immune enhancing, antioxidant and anti-inflammation capabilities (Reiter and Ma, 2020) . Elderly people are a more susceptible population for COVID-19. Melatonin is an age-dependent chemical, which means melatonin levels are lower in older people (Iguichi et al., 1982) . Studies also indicated that the level of melatonin in bats is high which may protect them from coronaviruses (Heideman et al., 1996) . Coronavirus could trigger inflammasome and cause inflammation; melatonin could potentially reduce these complications. Pulmonary fibrosis is the most significant complication of COVID-19. Melatonin may inhibit the regulators of proinflammatory and profibrotic cytokines at the molecular level (Shneider et al., 2020) . It may also modify endoplasmic reticulum stress and stimulates unfolded protein response through viral infections (Chen et al., 2018) .

In view of the ongoing repeated outbreaks of COVID-19, it is strongly suggested that the collection and analysis of available clinical data on the effectiveness of melatonin is begun immediately. Doctors and scientists should conduct researches to better understand the effectiveness of melatonin and to further illustrate its role in antiviral therapy.

Ziru Niu and Rong Li*

Basic aspects of melatonin action

Melatonin induces anti-inflammatory effects via endoplasmic reticulum stress in RAW264.7 macrophages

Melatonin rhythms and pineal structure in a tropical bat, Anoura geoffroyi, that does not use photoperiod to regulate seasonal reproduction

Inhibitory effect of melatonin on lung oxidative stress induced by respiratory syncytial virus infection in mice

Age-dependent reduction in serum melatonin concentrations in healthy human subjects

Isolation of melatonin, the pineal gland factor that lightens melanocytes

Treatment of ebola and other infectious diseases: melatonin "goes viral

Melatonin synthesis and clock gene regulation in the pineal organ of teleost fish compared to mammals: Similarities and differences

Can melatonin reduce the severity of COVID-19 pandemic?

Melatonin: its possible role in the management of viral infections--a brief review

Melatonin: a fertility-friendly anti-corononavirus agent