The pineal gland and cancer. I. Pinealectomy corrects
congenital hormonal dysfunctions and prolongs life of cancer-prone C3H/He mice.
Bulian D, Pierpaoli W.
Jean Choay Institute for Biomedical Research, INTERBION Foundation for Basic
Biomedical Research and CHRONOLIFE Inc., Via Industria, 16, CH-6826, Riva San
Vitale, Switzerland. chrono@dial.eunet.ch
Hormonal derangements almost invariably anticipate and signal the onset of
tumors. Chronic, nocturnal melatonin administration delays aging in normal
strains of mice. On the contrary it promotes and accelerates the onset of tumors
in the cancer-prone strain of C3H/He mice. Grafting of a young pineal gland into
aging mice prolongs their longevity and maintains juvenile circadian hormonal
functions while pinealectomy (Px) does the opposite. We investigated if Px in
C3H/He mice would modify their congenitally deranged pituitary function and
affect their longevity. It was found that contrarily to Px in normal mice, Px in
C3H/He mice remarkably maintains juvenile night levels of thyroid hormones and
lipids, preserves a cell-mediated immune response and significantly prolongs
their life. The pineal gland and its pathology may be the key for understanding,
not only the causes of metabolic aging, but also the origin of those congenital
or progressive aging-related hormonal alterations preceding onset of all tumors
and thus allow preventive corrective interventions with pineal-derived agents.