Regulation of melatonin receptors in the pars tuberalis of Syrian hamsters transferred from long to short photoperiod: implication of melatonin and testosterone.

The exposure of long day seasonal breeders to a short photoperiod (SP) induces both sexual quiescence and a decrease in pars tuberalis (PT) melatonin receptor density. Therefore, we studied the respective roles of melatonin and testosterone on the regulation of PT melatonin receptors in Syrian hamsters transferred from long photoperiod (LP) to SP. Compared with intact sexually active animals in LP, the density of melatonin receptors was not affected by the absence of melatonin after removal of the pineal gland from animals kept in either SP or LP. In contrast, the presence of a long melatonin peak in the blood which induces gonadal atrophy induced a significant decrease in binding capacity. The SP-induced decrease in PT melatonin receptor density was also observed in castrated animals showing that it was directly regulated by melatonin, independently of circulating testosterone concentrations. However, the absence of testosterone induced an increased binding in LP, while increasing blood testosterone concentration after implantation of one testosterone-filled silastic tube resulted in a decrease in binding both in LP-and in SP-animals. These results indicate that testosterone induces a photoperiod-independent decrease in PT melatonin receptor density. In summary, these results show that both melatonin and testosterone have negative regulatory effects on the density of PT melatonin receptors.