Effect of constant light on prolactin and corticosterone rhythms evaluated using a noninvasive urine sampling protocol in the rat.

Circadian prolactin and corticosterone rhythms are usually investigated in the rat by analysis of plasma hormone profiles. In order to develop a nonstressful methodology for long-term studies, we validated prolactin and corticosterone radioimmunoassays in rat urine samples. Among the criteria of validation, prolactin was identified in urine by Western blot whereas both prolactin and corticosterone levels were undetectable in the urine of hypophysectomized rats. The determination of prolactin and corticosterone levels on serial urine samples showed daily variations in male rats entrained by the light-dark cycle. The acrophases of the 24-hour prolactin and corticosterone profiles were located at 03:26 h and 23:32 h respectively, a delay of 3-4 hours compared with the values of the 24-hour plasma profiles reported in the literature. Corticosterone and prolactin rhythms were abolished or dramatically delayed after 3 weeks of constant illumination. As expected, constant light suppressed the rhythm of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin, the major hepatic metabolite of melatonin. The noninvasive and nonstressful methodology we developed could be of interest for studying the regulation of hormone rhythms and their mutual endocrine interactions in physiological conditions, especially their evolution in the aging process.