Cited by 36Circadian rhythm and melatoninSystemic Lupus Erythematosus ResearchAtherosclerosis and Cardiovascular Diseases

Melatonin Prevents Endothelial Dysfunction in SLE by Activating the Nuclear Receptor Retinoic Acid-Related Orphan Receptor-α

Huang, Huijing, Liu, Xuesong, Chen, Dandan, Lu, Yikang, Li, Jia, Du, Fang, Zhang, Chunyan, Lu, Liangjing·2020·International Immunopharmacology

Abstract

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease confers significant morbidity and mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A substantial proportion of patients with SLE display accelerated endothelial dysfunction, which precedes cardiovascular disease. Melatonin and its nuclear receptor retinoid-related orphan receptor alpha (RORα) have been reported to have some protective effects on the development of atherosclerosis. However, the function of melatonin in SLE-induced endothelial dysfunction and the role that RORα plays are still unknown. In this study, we found that RORα protein expression was decreased in aortas of lupus-prone mice and in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) cultured with medium containing sera of patients with SLE. Melatonin-treated HUVECs showed a decrease of pro-inflammatory mRNAs [interleukin-1beta (IL-1β), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)] under the stimulation of SLE medium. Melatonin increased nitric oxide and antioxidant mRNAs (SOD1, GPX1, and CAT) and downregulated reactive oxygen species (ROS) level in HUVECs, which may subsequently delay endothelial senescence and promote HUVEC proliferation and repair after injury. Melatonin inhibited SLE medium-induced RAW264.7 macrophage migration. HUVECs pretreated with melatonin expressed less adhesion-related proteins (ICAM-1 and VCAM-1); as a result, these cells adhered to fewer peripheral blood monocytes. In addition, we also showed that the protective effects of melatonin on endothelial cells were largely diminished when RORα was knockdown in HUVECs. In conclusion, by targeting the nuclear receptor RORα, melatonin preserves normal functions of endothelium in SLE by its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-senescence effects. RORα may have the potential to become a prophylactic or therapeutic target in preventing endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in patients with SLE.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.intimp.2020.106365

Cites

39 of 39 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Melatonin treatment inhibits sodium nitroprusside-mediated NO release in neuroblastoma cells and increases transcripts for SOD1, GPx1, and CAT in HUVEC.

    “For example, inhibition of sodium nitroprusside-mediated NO release and increased production of transcripts coding for antioxidant enzymes (i.e., SOD1, GPx1 and CAT) have been reported upon melatonin treatment in neuroblastoma cells and HUVEC, respectively [451,453].”

Cites

1 retracted

Flagged first, then by citations

1 of the 40 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Huang, H., Liu, X., Chen, D., Lu, Y., Li, J., Du, F., Zhang, C., & Lu, L.
Affiliations
Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
Corresponding author
  • Lu, Yikang
  • Zhang, Chunyan
  • Lu, Liangjing
Venue
International Immunopharmacology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-06
Volume
83
Pages
106365
ISSN
1567-5769 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3012139004
Cited by
36
References
40
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 3
FWCI
1.67
Type
journal article
Language
en
Update notices
erratum (2020-09-01)
Open access
closed
Locations
  • International Immunopharmacology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC0909000)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (81974251)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Rheumatology › Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Research
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Atherosclerosis and Cardiovascular Diseases
Keywords
melatonin, RORα, systemic lupus erythematosus, endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, lupus-prone mice, human umbilical vein endothelial cells, endothelial cell senescence, oxidative stress, anti-inflammatory activity, macrophage migration, monocyte adhesion, ICAM-1, VCAM-1, nitric oxide, antioxidant enzymes, therapeutic target
MeSH terms
RAW 264.7 Cells, Superoxide Dismutase-1, Animals, Endothelium, Humans, Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic, Melatonin, Cytokines, Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1, Inflammation Mediators, Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1, RNA, Small Interfering, Atherosclerosis, Mice, Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group F, Member 1, Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review