Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P01178 (oxytocin)
 15,767 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT) are cyclic nonapeptides whose actions are mediated by the stimulation of specific G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) currently classified into V(1)-vascular (V(1)R), V(2)-renal (V(2)R) and V(3)-pituitary (V(3)R) AVP receptors and OT receptors (OTR). The signal transduction pathways coupled to the different subtypes of AVP/OT receptors are reviewed. The recent cloning of the different members of the AVP/OT family of receptors now allows the extensive characterisation of the molecular determinants involved in agonist and antagonist binding, as well as signal transduction coupling. Potential therapeutic uses of AVP receptor antagonists include: the blockade of V(1)-vascular AVP receptors in arterial hypertension, congestive heart failure (CHF) and peripheral vascular diseases; the blockade of V(2)-renal AVP receptors in the syndrome of inappropriate vasopressin secretion, CHF, liver cirrhosis, nephrotic syndrome and any state of excessive retention of free water and subsequent hyponatraemia; the blockade of V(3)-pituitary AVP receptors in adrenocorticotropin (ACTH)-secreting tumours. The pharmacological and clinical profile of orally-active non-peptide AVP receptor antagonists is reviewed.
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PMID:Development and therapeutic indications of orally-active non-peptide vasopressin receptor antagonists. 1599 64

The hypothalamic nonapeptide vasopressin is a known player in the pathogenesis of chronic heart failure. According to the large body of clinical evidence, vasopressin has an impact on salt and water imbalance, hyponatremia, and subsequent renal insufficiency - the most common and destructive co-morbidity of patients afflicted with chronic heart failure. Despite the well-documented elevated levels of vasopressin in the blood of such patients, its expression in the magnocellular hypothalamic nuclei and transport to the posterior pituitary has not yet been investigated. In addition, the literature almost lacks the information on the contribution of another member of nonapeptide family, oxytocin, in the pathogenesis of this disease. Here we present a postmortem analysis of vasopressin and oxytocin-immunoreactive neurons and their terminals in the posterior pituitary of 8 male patients (53.8+/-9.3 years) who had died from CHF and 9 male controls (54.6+/-11.8 years). In line with previous clinical reports, our study on hypothalami of chronic heart failure patients revealed a significant increase in the relative profile density (+29%) of vasopressin-positive neurons in the hypothalamic supraoptic nucleus. Consistently we found a significant increase in the relative optic density of vasopressin-immunoreactivity in the posterior pituitary (+33%) of these patients. In contrast, the similar analysis applied for oxytocin neurons revealed no statistically significant differences to controls. In conclusion, our study provides the morphological evidence for activation of vasopressin (but not oxytocin) expression and vasopressin transport to the posterior pituitary in patients with chronic heart failure.
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PMID:Comparison of vasopressin and oxytocin expressions in the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system of patients with chronic heart failure. 1967 16

Haemodynamic changes that occur during pregnancy are maximal between 28 and 34 weeks. In the pregnant woman with several associated diseases, such as hypertensive myocardiopathy and pre-gestational diabetes, these changes can lead to a difficult control of pulmonary hypertension and acute pulmonary oedema. We report the case of a pregnant woman with long term type 1 diabetes mellitus who suffered pre-eclampsia in a previous pregnancy, and since then developed hypertensive cardiomyopathy. She was admitted at 30 week gestation for metabolic and blood pressure control, and developed congestive cardiac failure after the administration of betamethasone for foetal lung maturity. A transthoracic echocardiogram showed a non-dilated hypertrophic left ventricle with good systolic function, restrictive diastolic dysfunction and moderate pulmonary arterial hypertension. When her general condition improved, we performed a caesarean section under regional anaesthesia to prevent the complications of pulmonary and systemic hypertension. We present the anaesthetic management and resolution of complications after oxytocin administration.
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PMID:[Anaesthetic management of caesarean section in pregnancy with diabetes and hypertrophic myocardiopathy with restrictive diastolic dysfunction]. 2256 23

Since the discovery of vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT) in 1953, considerable knowledge has been gathered about their roles in cardiovascular homeostasis. Unraveling VP vasoconstrictor properties and V1a receptors in blood vessels generated powerful hemostatic drugs and drugs effective in the treatment of certain forms of circulatory collapse (shock). Recognition of the key role of VP in water balance via renal V2 receptors gave birth to aquaretic drugs found to be useful in advanced stages of congestive heart failure. There are still unexplored actions of VP and OT on the cardiovascular system, both at the periphery and in the brain that may open new venues in treatment of cardiovascular diseases. After a brief overview on VP, OT and their peripheral action on the cardiovascular system, this review focuses on newly discovered hypothalamic mechanisms involved in neurogenic control of the circulation in stress and disease.
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PMID:Vasopressin & Oxytocin in Control of the Cardiovascular System: An Updated Review. 3154 93