Delayed Sexual Maturation Induced by Daily Melatonin Administration Eliminates the LH Response to Naloxone despite Normal Responsiveness to GnRH in Juvenile Male Rats

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Abstract
Daily administration of melatonin (MT) markedly delays sexual maturation in the male Wistar rat. In this study, we have evaluated pituitary responsiveness to GnRH and the level of tonic inhibition by endogenous opioids in normal juvenile male rats and in rats with delayed sexual development induced by daily afternoon MT injection (100 µg, s.c.) starting at 20 days of life. Plasma LH responses to repetitive intravenous GnRH administration (100 ng/100 g body weight), or to different doses of GnRH administered subcutaneously (5–100 ng/100 g body weight) were normal in MT-treated rats both at 30 and 40 days of life despite significantly lower number of pituitary GnRH receptors and decreased pituitary gonadotropin content. One naloxone (NAL) injection (2.5–5.0 mg/kg, s.c.) produced a significant increase of plasma LH in normal 40- and 55-day-old rats, which was not seen in MT-treated rats of the same age. In contrast, no increase of plasma LH was seen in 30-day-old control rats nor in MT-treated rats at this age. Pretreatment with morphine sulfate (10 mg/kg, s.c), or with the potent Met-enkephalin analog FK 33–824 (1.0 mg/kg, s.c.) prevented the NAL-induced rise of plasma LH in control rats at day 40 of life. In all instances, plasma PRL levels were decreased after NAL both in untreated and in MT-treated rats. The lack of response to the NAL stimulation test in intact, sexually retarded MT-treated animals at 40 and 55 days of life further demonstrates that chronic administration of MT delays the maturation of neuroendocrine pathways that control the LH (GnRH) secretion during sexual maturation. Furthermore, the presence of normal pituitary responsiveness to GnRH in these rats confirms that MT administration does not impair pituitary response to this secretagogue.