Sexually Dimorphic Modulation of GABAA Receptor Currents by Melatonin in Rat Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Neurons

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons represent the final output neurons in the central control of reproduction. γ-Amino butyric acid (GABA), one of the major regulators of GnRH neurons, depolarizes GnRH neurons isolated from adult rats via GABAA receptors. The presence of GABAA receptors in GnRH neurons has also been demonstrated morphologically. Furthermore, the pineal hormone melatonin is involved in the regulation of reproductive function, including the timing of the luteinizing hormone surge. The suprachiasmatic nucleus and the GABAergic system in the medial preoptic area are considered as possible sites of the action of melatonin. Until now, however, a direct action of melatonin on GnRH neurons has not been reported. Therefore we examined the effect of melatonin on GABAA receptor currents in GnRH neurons isolated from GnRH-EGFP transgenic rats by means of perforated patch-clamp experiments. The GABAA receptor currents were modulated by melatonin in a sex-specific manner. In GnRH neurons from adult males, melatonin augmented these currents in 67% of the neurons examined, but attenuated the currents in only 19% of them. These modulations were blocked by the melatonin receptor antagonist luzindole, suggesting an involvement of melatonin receptors. The modulation by melatonin was not observed in GnRH neurons isolated from infantile rats. These findings indicate that GABA affects the excitability of GnRH neurons in adult rats through GABAA receptors, and that melatonin modifies this excitability via melatonin receptors in a sex-specific manner.