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Query: UNIPROT:P01178 (oxytocin)
 15,767 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Transcriptional regulation of the oxytocin and oxytocin receptor genes underly to a large degree the highly specific and often transient physiologies associated with this peptide hormone system. Using a variety of homologous transcription assays we have endeavoured to identify and characterize the cis and trans elements responsible for the regulation in vivo of the oxytocin peptide gene and the gene for the oxytocin receptor. The bovine ovarian granulosa cell model is a primary culture system where under stimulation by insulin or IGF-I and LH the endogenous oxytocin gene is massively upregulated. We have identified a proximal response element at -160, which in vivo binds the competing nuclear receptors, SF1 and COUP-TF. Additionally ovarian specific transcription factors bind at two additional sites in the distal promoter region. For the bovine oxytocin receptor gene, we have taken advantage of the high endogenous expression of the receptor in the endometrium of the estrous cycle. Using a combination of primary cell culture techniques and in vitro binding of nuclear protein extracts from tissues expressing the receptor in vivo, we have shown there to be a combination of constitutive and inhibitory elements controlling oxytocin receptor gene expression. Similar results were obtained for the human oxytocin receptor gene. At birth there may additionally be a specific stimulatory effect on transcription in the myometrium.
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PMID:The molecular basis of oxytocin and oxytocin receptor gene expression in reproductive tissues. 1002 17

Steroidogenic tissues such as the ovary, testes or adrenal glands are paradoxical in that they often indicate actions of steroid hormones within a dynamic range of ligand concentration in a high nanomolar or even micromolar level, i.e. at the natural concentrations existing within those organs. Yet ligand-activated nuclear steroid receptors act classically by direct interaction with DNA in the picomolar or low nanomolar range. Moreover, global genomic studies suggest that less than 40% of steroid-regulated genes involve classical responsive elements in gene promoter regions. The bovine oxytocin gene is a key element in the maternal recognition of pregnancy in ruminants and is regulated via an SF1 site in its proximal promoter. This gene is also regulated by steroids acting in a non-classical manner, involving nuclear receptors which do not interact directly with DNA. Dose-response relationships for these actions are in the high nanomolar range. Similar 'steroid sensing' mechanisms may prevail for other SF1-regulated genes and predict alternative pathways by which environmental endocrine disruptors might influence the functioning of steroid-producing organs and hence indirectly the steroid-dependent control of physiology and development.
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PMID:Non-classical mechanisms of steroid sensing in the ovary: lessons from the bovine oxytocin model. 2363 4