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)

Mesenteric artery rings from Wistar and Wistar-Furth rats subcutaneously treated with deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) and 1% NaCl drinking water were used to measure endothelial modulation of contractile sensitivity and vasopressin receptor function and affinity. DOCA-salt hypertension reduced contractile sensitivity to arginine vasopressin (AVP) and did not affect contractile sensitivity to norepinephrine in arteries from Wistar rats. Endothelial removal caused a threefold increase in contractile sensitivity to AVP and norepinephrine in DOCA-salt hypertensive Wistar rats. In Wistar-Furth rats, DOCA-salt treatment did not affect contractile sensitivity to AVP, lysine vasopressin, oxytocin, and norepinephrine or the affinity of the vasopressin receptor for agonists or antagonists. Removal of endothelium did not affect vasopressin contractile sensitivity but caused a 15-fold increase in contractile sensitivity to norepinephrine in untreated or DOCA-salt-treated Wistar-Furth rats. These data show that reduced vasopressin receptor function and increased endothelial function that compensate for increased contractile sensitivity in arteries from DOCA-salt hypertensive Wistar rats are not the cause of resistance of DOCA-salt-treated Wistar-Furth rats to the development of enhanced contractile sensitivity and hypertension.
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PMID:Endothelium, vasopressin receptors, and resistance to DOCA-salt hypertension. 834 27

The marked up-regulation of oxytocin (OT) receptors in rabbit amnion at term was reproduced in cultured amnion cells by raising intracellular cAMP levels. (Bu)2AMP, forskolin, or cholera toxin caused 2- to 8-fold increases in specific binding of iodinated OT antagonist. The rise in OT receptors involves activation of protein kinase-A activity and protein synthesis, as forskolin's effects were inhibited by H-7 and H-8 and by cycloheximide, respectively. Forskolin treatment also increased specific cross-linking of a photoaffinity derivative of [125I]OT antagonist to a 50-kilodalton electrophoretic band corresponding in size to the amnion OT receptor. Forskolin and (Bu)2cAMP increased OT stimulation of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) release; PGE2 release elicited by epidermal growth factor or calcium ionophore was unchanged. Forskolin also enhanced stimulation of PGE2 synthesis by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, an activator of protein kinase-C. Because protein kinase-C mediates OT action in amnion cells, forskolin causes increases in both the signal and signal transduction mechanisms. These results suggest that cAMP mediates the exponential-like rise in rabbit amnion OT receptors occurring in vivo at term. The physiological signals increasing cAMP concentrations in amnion may be important for OT stimulation of PGE2 release and, therefore, have a significant role in the initiation and/or progression of labor.
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PMID:Up-regulation of oxytocin receptors in rabbit amnion by adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate. 838 Mar 70

Prostaglandin (PG) production by human amnion has been postulated to have a role in the onset of labor. Previous work by ourselves and others has demonstrated that oxytocin, phorbol esters and epidermal growth factor (EGF) increase PGE2 production in human amnion cells by activation of the Phospholipase C/Protein Kinase C (PKC) cascade system. The present study was undertaken to determine the effect of prior activation of the Adenylate Cyclase cascade system upon subsequent stimulation of PGE2 production by oxytocin, phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) or EGF in amnion cells and membrane discs. Isoproterenol, forskolin and dibutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate (dbcAMP) were utilized to activate the Adenylate Cyclase system at the receptor, enzyme and second messenger level. In control amnion cells, oxytocin, PMA and EGF each provoked dose dependent increases in PGE2 production. In cells preincubated with dbcAMP, forskolin or isoproterenol, agonist stimulated PGE2 production was markedly (50-90%) inhibited (p < 0.01). Inhibition was dose dependent upon preincubator concentrations. Maximal inhibition by adenylate cyclase activators occurred with 2-4 h of preincubation. In membrane discs, forskolin preincubation also inhibited oxytocin, PMA and EGF stimulation of PGE2 production. Activation of the Adenylate Cyclase system in human amnion cells or membrane discs inhibits the subsequent action of potent stimulators of PGE2 production in human amnion.
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PMID:Protein kinase A activators inhibit agonist induced prostaglandin production in human amnion. 839 7

We investigated the activity of phospholipase D (PLD) in human amnion cells labeled with [3H]oleate. The PLD activity was detected as signal-induced synthesis of phosphatidic acid (PA) and in the presence of ethanol, phosphatidylethanol (PEt). The PLD was shown to be activated by phorbol, 12-myristate, 13-acetate (PMA), calcium ionophore A23187, oxytocin, bombesin and bradykinin, but not by platelet-activating factor (PAF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF). The amniotic PLD thus appeared to be activated by a variety of agonists but with a certain specificity to stimulators. We examined the mode of the PLD activation using PMA (20 nM) and bradykinin (1 microM) as model stimulators. PMA and bradykinin elicited a rapid and sustained response with the peaks of PA-labeling attained at 5 and < 1 min after stimulation, respectively. In both cases, there was a concomitant rise of diacylglycerol (DG), and the PA accumulation was suppressed by ethanol at the expense of labeling of PEt. The PA synthesis caused by the two stimulators was similarly inhibited by staurosporine and by a chronic treatment with PMA (100 nM for 24 h), suggesting that the activation of PLD is linked to the action of protein kinase C. With the cells labeled with radioactive choline and ethanolamine, we found that the amniotic PLD hydrolyzed almost equally phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. Although bradykinin and PMA stimulated cellular PLD to a comparable extent, prostaglandin (PG)E2 release was not stimulated by bradykinin in contrast to the marked effect by PMA. Further work is thus needed to clarify the significance of the novel PLD signaling pathway in the function of amnion cells.
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PMID:Phospholipase D activity of human amnion cells stimulated with phorbol ester and bradykinin. 850 57

The aim of this study was to determine the ability of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), lysine vasopressin (LVP), oxytocin (OT), and angiotensin II (AII) to stimulate adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) secretion from porcine anterior pituitary (AP) cells in vitro and to evaluate the role of protein kinase C (PKC) in the interaction between CRH and LVP. In this study, porcine AP cells were enzymatically and mechanically dispersed, cultured (150,000 cells/well) for 4 d, and then challenged with doses of various neuropeptides for 3 hr. CRH (10(-7)-10(-10) M) was the most potent of the peptides tested in stimulating ACTH release from porcine AP cells. In fact, none of the other peptides consistently affected ACTH concentrations relative to basal levels. However, LVP potentiated CRH action, even though by itself, it failed to stimulate ACTH production. Neither OT or AII potentiated CRH-stimulated ACTH release from porcine AP cells. To determine whether the inter-action between CRH and LVP was regulated partially by the protein Kinase C (PKC) pathway, we challenged AP cells in a 30-min incubation with 10(-7) M staurosporine (ST), a treatment predicted to decrease PKC activity. Then, cells were washed and challenged with 10(-9) M LVP, 10(-9) M CRH, and 10(-9) M CRH + LVP. Treatment with ST decreased (P < 0.05) CRH + LVP-stimulated ACTH release. To further demonstrate an interaction between protein kinase A (PKA) and PKC transduction pathways in the observed synergism between CRH and LVP to enhance ACTH secretion, we also challenged AP cells with 10(-7) M phorbol 12, 13-myristate acetate (PMA) and 5 microM forskolin (FOR) for 3 hr. This treatment was predicted to enhance PKA and PKC activities, respectively, and thereby enhance ACTH concentrations. Challenging cells with FOR + PMA enhanced (P < 0.001) ACTH release above basal concentrations, but more important, it increased (P < 0.001) ACTH concentration above that elicited by either drug given alone. Taken together, our in vitro studies support the conclusion that CRH is the principal regulator of ACTH secretion in the pig. In contrast to the results in most other species evaluated, vasopressin alone did not affect ACTH release. However, LVP can enhance the effectiveness of CRH in releasing ACTH, and this enhancement appears to rely, at least in part, on the activation of the PKC signal transduction pathway.
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PMID:Effects of corticotropin-releasing hormone, lysine vasopressin, oxytocin, and angiotensin II on adrenocorticotropin secretion from porcine anterior pituitary cells. 873 67

Explanted endometrial tissue from ovariectomized ewes that had received hormone replacement to mimic the luteal phase released platelet-activating factor (PAF) into medium in vitro. On Day 14, 310.1 (261-2185), and on Day 15, 424.4 (14.1-590.7) pg PAF (median 25th-75th percentile; p > 0.05) was released per 100 mg endometrial tissue after a 20-min incubation. A regulatory and final enzyme in the PAF biosynthetic pathway, lysoPAF:acetyltransferase, was also present with a specific activity of 0.533 +/- 0.124 pmol acetate/50 micrograms protein/30 min in Day 14 endometrial tissue and 0.810 +/- 0.468 in Day 15 tissue (mean +/- SEM; p > 0.05). PAF:acetylhydrolase, the metabolic enzyme regulating PAF's half-life, was present in uterine luminal washings, with a specific activity of 3.78 +/- 1.37 nmol acetate released/min/mg protein on Day 14 and 3.41 +/- 0.34 on Day 15 (mean +/- SEM; p > 0.05). Intrauterine infusion of 50-400 micrograms PAF caused a dose-dependent release of prostaglandin (PG) F2 alpha (measured as venous 14-dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin F2 alpha, PGFM) within 10 min on Days 13-15. The enantiomeric form of PAF was significantly less effective in inducing a rise in venous PGFM. WEB 2086 is reported to be a competitive receptor antagonist for PAF, but a 10-fold excess of WEB 2086 failed to inhibit PAF-induced release of PGFM. It was observed that this dose of WEB alone induced PGFM release, suggesting that in this model this agent may not work as a true competitive antagonist. Repeat challenges at intervals of 0, 90, and 120 min with either 200 micrograms PAF or micrograms oxytocin resulted in a marked tachyphylaxis of response by the third challenge. This desensitization after repeated PAF challenge suggests a specificity of its actions. Infusion of 200 micrograms PAF on Day 14 or 15 at five 60-min intervals resulted in a tachyphylaxis such that by the fourth and fifth challenges, essentially no response was observed. The tachyphylaxis that was induced by four repeat challenges with PAF had no apparent effect on the capacity of the uterus to respond to a fifth challenge with oxytocin. Thus, PAF and oxytocin both caused homologous desensitization of their own capacity to mobilize uterine PGF2 alpha, but PAF did not cause heterologous desensitization of the response to oxytocin. This failure of heterologous desensitization suggests differences in the mechanism of action of the two ligands. Kinetic binding studies showed that PAF did not compete for the oxytocin receptor in vitro. This result demonstrated that the ovine endometrium produces PAF and responds to it by the release of PGF2 alpha in situ. The dynamics of the response elicited by PAF were similar to those of oxytocin, yet the two mediators apparently act separately. PAF may be a modulator of PGF2 alpha release by the ovine uterus during the luteal phase.
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PMID:Ovine endometrium synthesizes and releases platelet-activating factor, which can cause the release of prostaglandin F2 alpha by the uterus in situ. 878 86

Ionic mechanisms responsible for histamine-induced prolonged depolarization in supraoptic nucleus neurons were investigated using whole-cell patch recordings in horizontally prepared brain slices from adult male rats. Bath application of histamine (1-10 microM) in control medium induced membrane depolarization in nine of 12 phasically firing, putative vasopressin cells, but not in continuous firing, putative oxytocin cells (none of five cells). Depolarization, usually accompanied by increased firing rate, started within 20 s after histamine reached the slices, lasting for 3-13 min, after which they repolarized, and this was repeatable upon washout. Chelation of intracellular Ca2+ with 11 mM 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetra-acetate and perfusion of slices with Ca(2+)-free medium blocked neither histamine-induced membrane depolarizations nor increased firing rates in 24 of 30 cells recorded. Depolarizations were always associated with decreases in membrane conductance. Following treatment with promethazine (H1 receptor antagonist) in six cells excited previously by histamine, subsequent application induced neither membrane depolarization nor increased firing. H1 receptor agonists mimicked histamine-induced depolarization (four of six cells) but the H2 receptor agonist, dimaprit (10 microM), had no effect (all of nine cells). In medium containing 0 mM Ca2+, 2 mM Co2+ and 1-2 microM tetrodotoxin, with internal Ca2+ chelation, bath application of histamine induced an apparent inward current in 15 of 20 supraoptic neurons tested. The peak of inward current evoked by 1-10 microM histamine at holding potentials around -50 mV varied from 10 to 50 pA (27.3 +/- 0.3 pA, mean +/- S.E.M.). Ramp voltage tests revealed that this inward current decreased as membrane potential was hyperpolarized and had a reversal potential of -90.1 +/- 3.8 mV (n = 10). Subtraction of current obtained before from that during histamine application revealed a current that was linear against membrane potential. Increasing external K+ concentration or introduction of K+ channel blockers in the medium attenuated or abolished histamine-induced inward current at membrane potentials close to -50 mV. When external Cl- concentration was reduced, histamine-induced inward current was still seen in five of seven supraoptic cells tested. Neither inward current nor change in conductance was observed following bath application of histamine in 11 of 12 neurons recorded using patch pipettes containing guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate), and in seven of eight neurons using pipettes containing guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate). These results suggest that histamine depolarizes supraoptic neurons, at least in part, by inhibiting a K+ leakage current mediated by H1 receptors linked to GTP-binding proteins and Ca(2+)-independent pathways. This study provides initial evidence for the second messengers regulating K+ leakage current.
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PMID:Histamine-induced prolonged depolarization in rat supraoptic neurons: G-protein-mediated, Ca(2+)-independent suppression of K+ leakage conductance. 884 19

The aim of the investigation was to evaluate the possible action of prostaglandins (PGs) and oestradiol-17 beta (oestradiol) on the specific binding for oxytocin in bovine luteal cells. Cultured cells of bovine corpora lutea at the mid-luteal stage (Day 8-12 of the oestrous cycle) were examined for the presence of oxytocin receptors by a radioreceptor assay using the 125I-labelled oxytocin antagonist [d(CH2)5,Tyr(Me)2,Thr4,Tyr-NH29]-vasotocin (125I-OVT) as a ligand. The cells were cultured for 48 h in total. In the final 15 h of culture, the luteal cells were exposed to varying concentrations of PGF2 alpha, PGE2 and/or oestradiol. After culture, the cells were incubated with 37,000 dpm (0.5 nM) 125I-OVT with or without 100 nM of unlabelled oxytocin. PGF2 alpha, at 10(-8) M and 10(-7) M, stimulated the specific binding for oxytocin to levels as high as 128% of controls (P < 0.01); by contrast, PGE2, PGI2 or oestradiol had no effect on oxytocin binding. Scatchard analysis revealed that the concentration of oxytocin receptors was increased (P < 0.05) from 6.7 fmol micrograms-1 DNA to 8.4 fmol micrograms-1 DNA by stimulation with 10(-7) M of PGF2 alpha without changing the binding affinity. No further increase in the specific binding was observed when PGF2 alpha was used in combination with PGE2, PGI2 or oestradiol at a concentration of 10(-7) M. Addition of indomethacin (28 microM) resulted in the inhibition of PGF2 alpha secretion, coinciding with a significant decrease in oxytocin binding (P < 0.01). However, addition of arachidonic acid (100 microM) caused a significant increase in the secretion of PGF2 alpha and the specific binding for oxytocin concomitantly (P < 0.05). When the protein kinase C (PKC) activity of the luteal cells was inactivated by preincubating cells for 13 h with 1 microM phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate before PGF2 alpha stimulation, the specific binding for oxytocin was not affected by PGF2 alpha stimulation (10(-7) M) in the final 15 h of culture. These data suggest that PGF2 alpha may be one of the potent regulators for luteal oxytocin receptors in a paracrine and/or autocrine manner, and that its action is mediated by PKC.
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PMID:Effects of prostaglandins and oestradiol-17 beta on oxytocin binding in cultured bovine luteal cells. 884 69

The mechanism for prostaglandin (PG) F2 alpha release from pig endometrium after oxytocin (OT) treatment is unknown. OT may rapidly stimulate inositol (1,4,5)-trisphosphate (IP3) and diacylglycerol (DAG) formation, consistent with the concept of rapid activation of a second-messenger system. In support of this hypothesis, endometrial IP3 levels were increased (P < 0.05) within 0.5 min after treatment with 0.1 microM OT. In contrast, increased DAG formation was not detected after treatment with OT. However, similar to the stimulation of endometrial PGF2 alpha secretion observed after OT treatment (P < 0.001), PGF2 alpha release was increased (P < 0.01) after treatment with phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), which mimics DAG activation of protein kinase C. Further, stimulation of endometrial PGF2 alpha secretion did not result from cell death induced by PMA or OT because lactate dehydrogenase, a cytosolic marker of cellular integrity, did not leak into the medium after PMA or OT treatment. In contrast, 0.5% saponin (positive control for cell death and concomitant release of lactate dehydrogenase) increased PGF2 alpha secretion (P < 0.05) and lactate dehydrogenase release (P < 0.001). These results indicate that OT induces endometrial IP3 production in a rapid manner indicative of a second-messenger system. The finding that increased DAG was not also detected after OT treatment may reflect rapid metabolism or compartmentalized production of DAG involved in the second-messenger stimulation of phospholipase C. The high background of DAG used in the biosynthesis of cellular lipids would obscure the rather small spatially localized changes in DAG levels resulting from the activation of phospholipase C. The finding that DAG was present at approximately 10 to 20-fold higher levels than IP3 in resting cells was consistent with this conclusion.
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PMID:The role of phosphoinositide-derived second messengers in oxytocin-stimulated prostaglandin F2 alpha release from endometrium of pigs. 888 94

During luteinization of bovine granulosa cells in vitro in the presence of insulin, or insulin plus forskolin, there is a massive upregulation not only of progesterone production, but also of the gene for the peptide hormone oxytocin, with secretion of the peptide into the medium. By using the progesterone receptor antagonists, RU486 or onapristone, we have shown that this upregulation of the oxytocin gene is mediated by an autocrine loop involving endogenous progesterone and the progesterone receptor in the granulosa cells. The inhibition of oxytocin gene expression by the anti-gestagens can be reversed by medroxyprogesterone acetate but not by dexamethasone, showing that the effect is due to the endogenous progesterone. Since oxytocin also appears to be involved in a positive feedback loop regulating steroid output, these results show that endogenous progesterone itself is a key feedback element in the cascade of events termed luteinization, and that possibly anti-gestagens can influence ovarian function in vivo by directly disrupting this process.
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PMID:An autocrine progesterone positive feedback loop mediates oxytocin upregulation in bovine granulosa cells during luteinization. 934 40


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