Redox Homeostasis Alteration Is Restored through Melatonin Treatment in COVID-19 Patients: A Preliminary Study

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 25; no. 8; p. 4543
• Main Authors: Soto, María Elena, Pérez-Torres, Israel, Manzano-Pech, Linaloe, Palacios-Chavarría, Adrían, Valdez-Vázquez, Rafael Ricardo, Guarner-Lans, Verónica, Soria-Castro, Elizabeth, Díaz-Díaz, Eulises, Castrejón-Tellez, Vicente
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-04-2024
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; antioxidant enzymes; Antioxidants; Antioxidants - metabolism; Antioxidants - therapeutic use; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - blood; COVID-19 - metabolism; COVID-19 - virology; COVID-19 Drug Treatment; COVID-19 vaccines; Cytochrome; Cytokine storm; Endocrine system; Enzymes; Female; Glucose; Glutathione - blood; Glutathione - metabolism; Health aspects; High density lipoprotein; Homeostasis; Homeostasis - drug effects; Humans; Infections; Kinases; Lipid peroxidation; Lipid Peroxidation - drug effects; Male; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Melatonin; Melatonin - pharmacology; Melatonin - therapeutic use; Middle Aged; Mitochondria; Mitochondrial DNA; Older people; Oxidation-Reduction - drug effects; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; redox homeostasis; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 - drug effects; Serotonin; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Triglycerides; Vaccines; Mexico; United Kingdom; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; redox homeostasis; antioxidant enzymes; melatonin; oxidative stress
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms25084543

Type II pneumocytes are the target of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which alters their redox homeostasis to increase reactive oxygen species (ROS). Melatonin (MT) has antioxidant proprieties and protects mitochondrial function. In this study, we evaluated whether treatment with MT compensated for the redox homeostasis alteration in serum from COVID-19 patients. We determined oxidative stress (OS) markers such as carbonyls, glutathione (GSH), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), thiols, nitrites (NO
), lipid peroxidation (LPO), and thiol groups in serum. We also studied the enzymatic activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), reductase (GR), thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), extracellular superoxide dismutase (ecSOD) and peroxidases. There were significant increases in LPO and carbonyl quantities (
≤ 0.03) and decreases in TAC and the quantities of NO
, thiols, and GSH (
< 0.001) in COVID-19 patients. The activities of the antioxidant enzymes such as ecSOD, TrxR, GPx, GST, GR, and peroxidases were decreased (
≤ 0.04) after the MT treatment. The treatment with MT favored the activity of the antioxidant enzymes that contributed to an increase in TAC and restored the lost redox homeostasis. MT also modulated glucose homeostasis, functioning as a glycolytic agent, and inhibited the Warburg effect. Thus, MT restores the redox homeostasis that is altered in COVID-19 patients and can be used as adjuvant therapy in SARS-CoV-2 infection.