Hierarchical Disruption of the Tryptophan-Melatonin Axis Contributes to Glioma Progression Through AKT/ERK/STAT3 Signalling.
Overview
- Department of Neurosurgery, Guangyuan Central Hospital, Guangyuan, Sichuan, China
- Department of Endocrinology, Guangyuan Central Hospital, Guangyuan, Sichuan, China
Abstract
Melatonin signalling, mediated by membrane receptors and tightly regulated biosynthetic enzymes, is a key component of circadian and neuroendocrine control in the brain. However, whether the tryptophan–melatonin axis remains hierarchically intact during glioma progression and how its disruption affects downstream signalling remain unclear. In this study, transcriptomic data from TCGA, CGGA, and GTEx were integrated to characterize the expression patterns of melatonin receptors (MTNR1A and MTNR1B) and biosynthetic enzymes (AANAT and ASMT) across normal brain tissue, lower‐grade glioma and glioblastoma. Protein expression was validated by immunohistochemistry, and functional consequences were investigated through gain‐ and loss‐of‐function experiments in glioma cells, followed by proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis and signalling analyses. Multi‐layered analyses revealed a coordinated disruption of the tryptophan–melatonin axis during glioma progression. Expression of AANAT, ASMT, MTNR1A and MTNR1B progressively declined with increasing tumour grade and was associated with poor prognosis. Immunohistochemistry confirmed reduced MTNR1A and ASMT protein expression in glioma tissues. Restoration of these factors suppressed glioma cell proliferation, migration and invasion while promoting apoptosis. Mechanistically, these effects were accompanied by inhibition of AKT, ERK and STAT3 signalling. These findings demonstrate that hierarchical disruption of receptor‐ and synthesis‐dependent melatonin signalling is a defining molecular feature of glioma and may contribute to malignant progression through activation of AKT/
Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.
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Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.
Ethical Considerations and Data Availability
All bioinformatic analyses were conducted using publicly available, de‐identified datasets. Experimental validation was performed using archived anonymized human glioma tissue specimens and established glioma cell lines. No prospective human recruitment or animal experiments were involved in this study. The use of archived human specimens was approved by the institutional ethics committee, and the requirement for informed consent was waived in accordance with institutional policies and national regulations. Processed data and analysis scripts are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.
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Version 1, 27 September 2026: the first record
Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 12 authors, 9 keywords, 15 MeSH terms, 4 funders, 36 references.
Cite
This paper
Tan, B., Yao, S., He, S., Chen, T., Chen, H., Yang, W., Tang, X., Xu, T., Zhang, J., Yin, X., Chen, Y., & Song, P. (2026). Hierarchical Disruption of the Tryptophan-Melatonin Axis Contributes to Glioma Progression Through AKT/
BibTeX
@article{tan2026hierarch
author = {Tan, Bo and Yao, Suqiu and He, Shuangyin and Chen, Tao and Chen, Han and Yang, Wenfu and Tang, Xiyuan and Xu, Tingting and Zhang, Jiajie and Yin, Xiaohong and Chen, Ying and Song, Peng},
title = {{Hierarchical Disruption of the Tryptophan-Melatonin Axis Contributes to Glioma Progression Through AKT/
journal = {Journal of cellular and molecular medicine},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
volume = {30},
number = {11},
pages = {e71243},
publisher = {Wiley},
issn = {1582-1838},
doi = {10.1111/
url = {https://
pmid = {42286740},
pmcid = {PMC13263238}
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
AU - Tan, Bo
AU - Yao, Suqiu
AU - He, Shuangyin
AU - Chen, Tao
AU - Chen, Han
AU - Yang, Wenfu
AU - Tang, Xiyuan
AU - Xu, Tingting
AU - Zhang, Jiajie
AU - Yin, Xiaohong
AU - Chen, Ying
AU - Song, Peng
TI - Hierarchical Disruption of the Tryptophan-Melatonin Axis Contributes to Glioma Progression Through AKT/
T2 - Journal of cellular and molecular medicine
J2 - J Cell Mol Med
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/
VL - 30
IS - 11
SP - e71243
SN - 1582-1838
PB - Wiley
DO - 10.1111/
UR - https://
LA - en
ER -
CSL-JSON
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