Research finds that melatonin can aggravate asthma

Now, a research team led by Kentaro Mizuta of the Tohoku University Graduate School of Dentistry has found that the sleep hormone melatonin can aggravate asthma

Asthma patients experience bronchoconstriction, and bronchial smooth muscle—the passage that carries air to the lungs and lungs—contracts

However, melatonin, usually used to treat insomnia, is conducive to the state of bronchoconstriction and weakens the relaxing effect of bronchodilators by activating the melatonin MT2 receptor

To clarify this point, the research team determined the expression of the melatonin MT2 receptor in human airway smooth muscle

Mizuta said: "Although the concentration of melatonin in the serum did not significantly cause airway constriction, the increase in the dose of melatonin used to treat insomnia, jet lag, or cancer in clinics can aggravate asthma symptoms and impair the effectiveness of bronchodilators.

Haruka Sasaki, the first author of the paper, added: “Melatonin MT2 receptor blockade can suppress the harmful effects of melatonin on the respiratory tract

The research paper was published in the American Journal of Physiology Pulmonary Cells and Molecular Physiology on November 16, 2021

Journal Reference :

1. Haruka Sasaki, Yi Zhang, Charles W.