AUTHOR=Novais Adriana Alonso , Chuffa Luiz Gustavo de Almeida , Zuccari Débora Aparecida Pires de Campos , Reiter Russel J. 

TITLE=Exosomes and Melatonin: Where Their Destinies Intersect

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.692022

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2021.692022

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=Cell-to-cell communication is a complex process associated with regular stimuli to maintain healthy cellular interactions, but which may also result in defective signaling. Exosomes are small membrane25 bound vesicles (30-100 nm) that contain a wide range of functional proteins, mRNAs, and miRNAs potentially interacting with healthy or diseased cells via several molecular means. Melatonin is an indoleamine produced by the pineal gland in a circadian manner; additionally, non-circadian melatonin derives from mitochondria of all normal cells. In addition to exhibiting antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and anti-aging activities, melatonin has been recently suggested to stimulate exosomes by modulating their number and/or content load. This review summarizes the relationship between melatonin and exosomes in several pathological processes. We conclude that melatonin associated with exosomes ameliorates inflammation, ischemia-reperfusion injury, degenerative, and neoplastic processes which involve different mechanisms. Melatonin-stimulated exosomes represent a promising therapeutic tool since they are capable of interfering with basic molecular processes, such as oxidative stress and the inflammatory cascade, which underpin many pathophysiological aspects of diseases.