Table 5.

The effects of melatonin on atherosclerosis and intimal hyperplasia.

Drug or pharmacological agent	Melatonin dose	Treatment duration	Targets	Effects	Model	References
Melatonin	10 mg/kg/d	4 weeks	VEGF, eNOS, Nrf2/ROS/NLRP3 signaling pathway	Reduced rat carotid artery intimal hyperplasia, attenuated smoking-induced atherosclerosis	In vivo (rats)	(391)
Melatonin	5, 10 mg/kg/d	2 weeks	Vaspin, visfatin, DDAH, STAT-3	Protected against atherosclerosis, anti-inflammatory effects	In vivo (rats)	(416)
Melatonin	10 mg/kg/d	12 weeks	HGF/c-Met axis	Reduced number of macrophages in plaque, increased stability	In vivo (rabbits)	(406)
Melatonin	10 mg/kg/d	9 weeks	RORα, AMPKα-STAT pathway	Regulated plaque inflammation, increased plaque stability	In vivo (mice)	(393)
Melatonin	0.3, 3, 30 mg/kg/d	8 weeks	P4Hα1, Akt, Sp1	Stabilized plaque	In vitro, in vivo (mice)	(394)
Melatonin	10 mg/kg/d	7, 15 weeks	TNF-α, PDGF-BB	Suppressed atherosclerosis	In vitro, in vivo (mice)	(396)
Melatonin	20 mg/kg/d	4 weeks	NLRP3, Sirt3/FOXO3a/Parkin signaling pathway	Inhibited progression of atherosclerosis	In vitro, in vivo (mice)	(417)
Melatonin	20 mg/kg/d	4 weeks	Myosin light chain kinase (MLCK), ERK, JNK, p38	Inhibited atherosclerosis	In vivo (rabbits)	(418)
Melatonin	10 mg/kg/d	12 weeks	TLR4, MyD88, NF-κB, p65, IκB	Improved endothelial function, suppressed plaque formation	In vivo (rabbits)	(377)
DTBHB	0.02% wt/wt	16-weeks	IL-6, TNFa	Did not modify atherosclerosis	In vivo (mice)	(419)
Melatonin	0.02% (w/w)	16 weeks	–	Increased atherosclerosis	In vivo (mice)	(420)