Abstract
Prenatal constant light exposure (CLE) impaired the anxiety response and circadian rhythms of testicular enzymes in adult male rat offspring, while melatonin corrected these deficiencies. However, the mechanism by which CLE induces these long-term behavioral consequences and the impact of melatonin system have not been examined. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of prenatal CLE and melatonin treatment on anxiety- and depression-like behaviors, and the melatonin system in male and female adult rat offspring. Six groups of male and female rat offspring (P60) exposed to either light/dark (LD) or CL regimes, and treated with vehicle or melatonin (10 mg/kg, s.c.) were evaluated for anxiety by open field (OF), elevated plus maze (EPM), and light/dark (LD) tests, and depressive-like response by splash test and sucrose preference test. Plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), corticosterone (CORT) and melatonin expression, and hippocampal MT1A and MT1b receptor expression were assessed by ELISA. Prenatal CLE induced behavioral deficits and elevated plasma CORT levels, while melatonin levels, their circadian rhythmicity, and hippocampal MT receptor expression were not altered in male and female offspring in the CLE regime. However, prenatal melatonin treatment corrected behavioral deficits in a sex-specific manner by up-regulating hippocampal MT receptors, even without altering systemic melatonin levels or normalizing CORT in either sex. The results of this study suggest critical insights into how prenatal environmental factors and therapeutic interventions shape physiological and behavioral outcomes.