Acutely administered melatonin decreases somatostatin-binding sites and the inhibitory effect of somatostatin on adenylyl cyclase activity in the rat hippocampus

Melatonin is known to increase neuronal activity in the hippocampus, an effect contrary to that of somatostatin (somatotropin release-inhibiting factor, SRIF). Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate whether the somatostatinergic system is implicated in the mechanism of action of melatonin in the rat hippocampus. One group of rats was injected a single dose of melatonin [25 microg/kg subcutaneously (s.c.)] or saline containing ethanol (0.5%, s.c.) and killed 5 hr later. Melatonin significantly decreased the SRIF-like immunoreactivity levels and induced a significant decrease in the density of SRIF receptors as well as in the dissociation constant (Kd). SRIF-mediated inhibition of basal and forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity was markedly decreased in hippocampal membranes from melatonin-treated rats. The functional activity of Gi proteins was similar in hippocampal membranes from melatonin-treated and control rats. Western blot analyses revealed that melatonin administration did not alter Gialpha1 or Gialpha2 levels. To determine if the changes observed were related to melatonin-induced activation of central melatonin receptors, a melatonin receptor antagonist, luzindole, was administered prior to melatonin injection. Pretreatment with luzindole (10 mg/kg, s.c.) did not alter the melatonin-induced effects on the above-mentioned parameters and luzindole, alone, had no observable effect. The present results demonstrate that melatonin decreases the activity of the SRIF receptor-effector system in the rat hippocampus, an effect which is apparently not mediated by melatonin receptors. As SRIF exerts an opposite effect to that of melatonin on hippocampal neuronal activity, it is possible that the SRIFergic system could be implicated in the mechanism of action of melatonin in the rat.