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)

The neurohypophyseal hormones arginine vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin are capable of replacing the interleukin 2 (IL 2) requirement for T cell mitogen induction of gamma-interferon (IFN-gamma) in mouse spleen cell cultures. The structural basis for the helper signal by these hormones resides in the six N-terminal amino acids of AVP based on the relative ability of AVP, oxytocin, vasotocin, and pressinoic acid (AVP six N-terminal amino acid peptide) to help in IFN-gamma induction. AVP and pressinoic acid provide maximal help at 10(-10) M, while oxytocin and vasotocin with isoleucine at position three in place of phenylalanine are 10-fold less effective. An AVP competitive antagonist of vasopressor activity blocks the AVP helper signal for production of IFN-gamma, while having no effect on IL 2 help. This suggests that the AVP helper signal operates via binding to an AVP vasopressor-type receptor on lymphocytes.
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PMID:Regulation of lymphokine production by arginine vasopressin and oxytocin: modulation of lymphocyte function by neurohypophyseal hormones. 392 16

A conformation of the neurohypophyseal hormone oxytocin in solution is proposed. The structure possesses, in addition to the beta-turn comprised of the sequence -L-tyrosyl-L-isoleucyl-L-glutaminyl-L-asparaginyl- in the ring component of the hormonal molecule, a second beta-turn involving the C-terminal oxytocin sequence, -L-cysteinyl-L-prolyl-L-leucylglycinamide. The resulting oxytocin structure places the bulky side chains of the leucine and isoleucine residues, as well as the cyclic moiety of the proline residue, at corners of the two beta-turns. A critical role is played by the asparagine residue: its peptide N-H participates in the formation of the hydrogen-bonded cyclic structure of the beta-turn in the ring component of oxytocin and its peptide C=O can be hydrogen-bonded to the N-H of tyrosine, while its side chain C=O stabilizes the second beta-turn by forming a hydrogen bond with the N-H of the leucine residue, which is part of the end peptide of the second beta-turn. This conformational assignment of oxytocin is consistent with hydrogen-deuterium exchange studies, with plots of temperature dependence of peptide proton chemical shifts, and with the coupling constants for the NH-CH dihedral angles.
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PMID:Proposed conformation of oxytocin in solution. 528 May 29

1. The effect of intramuscular injection of 8-arginine vasotocin, 8-arginine vasopressin, 8-lysine vasopressin, oxytocin, 8-ornithine oxytocin and 8-ornithine vasopressin on fluid uptake across the skin was studied in the live toad, Bufo melanostictus, bathed either in distilled water or in NaCl solution (0.1 g/100 ml.).2. When the bathing solution was distilled water, 8-arginine vasotocin was the most potent, 0.14 nmole/kg augmenting the rate of fluid uptake by 50%. Compared with it the others had relative potencies of: 8-arginine vasopressin 0.8, 8-lysine vasopressin 0.8 x 10(-3), oxytocin 0.8 x 10(-3), 8-ornithine oxytocin 0.8 x 10(-2), 8-ornithine vasopressin < 1.4 x 10(-4).3. When the bathing solution contained 0.1% NaCl, 8-arginine vasotocin was again the most potent, 0.06 nmole/kg augmenting the rate of fluid uptake by 50%. Compared with it the others had relative potencies of: 8-arginine vasopressin 0.3, 8-lysine vasopressin 0.3 x 10(-3), oxytocin 0.3 x 10(-2), 8-ornithine oxytocin 0.8 x 10(-2), 8-ornithine vasopressin < 0.6 x 10(-4).4. Dose-response curves for each peptide showed that in the case of 8-arginine vasopressin, 8-lysine vasopressin and 8-ornithine vasopressin the augmentation of rate of fluid uptake did not differ in the absence or in the presence of NaCl in the bathing solution; whereas in the case of 8-arginine vasotocin, oxytocin, and 8-ornithine oxytocin the augmentation was greater in the presence of sodium chloride.5. Support has been found for the postulate of a binary action of some neurohypophysial peptides on amphibian skin, arginine in position 8 being correlated with hydrosmotic effect, and isoleucine in position 3 with natriferic effect.
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PMID:Natriferic and hydrosmotic effects of neurohypophysial peptides and their analogues in augmenting fluid uptake by Bufo melanostictus. 567 41

A sensitive and precise method for assaying the water permeability response evoked by neurohypophyseal hormones and their synthetic analogues on the isolated urinary bladder of the toad (Bufo marinus L.) is described. The method permits detection of 8-arginine-vasotocin at concentrations as low as 10(-12)M. This sensitivity, not achieved heretofore with this tissue, results largely from minimizing interference of inhibitory substances by means of an "in vitro circulation assembly." The precision of the method derives from a direct comparison between the cumulative dose-response curve of an agonist of unknown potency acting on one hemibladder and that of a reference compound acting on the contralateral hemibladder. Crystalline deamino-oxytocin is used as the reference standard in this assay. The intrinsic activity of 2-(O-methyltyrosine)-oxytocin, as defined by the maximal response, is 12% lower than that of deamino-oxytocin. All other hormonal peptides investigated have the same intrinsic activity as deamino-oxytocin, even 5-valine-oxytocin, in spite of its extremely low affinity. A comparison of the potencies of 8-arginine-vasotocin vs. 8-arginine-vasopressin, 8-ornithine-vasotocin vs. 8-ornithine-vasopressin, 8-alanine-oxytocin vs. 8-alanine-oxypressin, and deamino-8-alanine-oxytocin vs. deamino-8-alanine-oxypressin suggests that an isoleucine residue in position 3 imparts a higher specificity for binding of the hormonal peptide molecule to the bladder receptor than a phenylalanine residue in this locus.
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PMID:A sensitive hydroosmotic toad bladder assay. Affinity and intrinsic activity of neurohypophyseal peptides. 569 11

Microorganisms in ruminal ingesta and pure cultures of anaerobic ruminal bacteria of different physiological and morphological groups incorporated (14)C from labeled 2-methylbutyrate during growth. The radioactivity was incorporated mainly into lipid and protein. Isoleucine was the only labeled amino acid found in acid hydrolysates of protein from either pure or mixed cultures. Radioactivity in isoleucine synthesized from 2-methylbutyrate-1-(14)C was entirely in carbon-2. Thus, the carboxylation of 2-methylbutyrate is a pathway for synthesis of isoleucine different from that operative in many aerobic and facultative microorganisms. The specific activity of isoleucine from 2-methylbutyrate by Bacteroides rumminicola 23 increased with higher concentrations of 2-methylbutyrate (2.6 to 44 x 10(-5)m) in the growth medium. At the highest concentration, the specific activity of isoleucine synthesized was 40% of the specific activity of the 2-methylbutyrate in the growth medium. The use of enzymatic casein hydrolysate, oxytocin, or vasopressin rather than ammonia as nitrogen source for growth of strain 23 depressed the incorporation of 2-methylbutyrate into isoleucine. Synthesis of isoleucine from 2-methylbutyrate appears to be an important reaction in the rumen.
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PMID:Isoleucine biosynthesis from 2-methylbutyric acid by anaerobic bacteria from the rumen. 581 42

[1-Penicillamine,2-leucine]oxytocin is a conformationally restricted analogue of oxytoxin in which the half-cystine-1 and tyrosine-2 residues of the native hormone are replaced by half-penicillamine (beta, beta-dimethyl-half-cystine) and leucine, respectively. This analogue is a surprisingly potent oxytocin antagonist [Hruby, V. J., Deb, K. K., Yamamoto, D. M., Hadley, M. E., & Chan, W. Y. (1979) J. Med. Chem. 22,7]. Extensive proton magnetic resonance experiments were performed to determine the conformational properties of this analogue in aqueous solution, and the results were compared with the previously published model for the conformation of [1-penicillamine]oxytocin. The results are consistent with a conformation similar to that of [1-penicillamine]oxytocin except that, while [1-penicillamine]oxytocin in aqueous solution possesses two 1 comes from 3 (C7) type turns involving the isoleucine-3 peptide amide proton and the half-penicillamine-1 carbonyl and the asparagine-5 peptide amide proton and the isoleucine-3 carbonyl, [1-penicillamine,2-leucine)oxytocin has only the latter 1 comes from 3 turn. This difference between the antagonists is reflected in the different phi and psi angles in the three N-terminal residues of the two inhibitor analogues and in differences in the preferred side-chain conformations for several residues. One particular result of these conformational differences is that, whereas for [1-penicillamine]oxytocin the tyrosine-2 side chain is unable to assume the rotamer for maximal binding to the uterine receptor, [1-penicillamine,2-leucine]oxytoxin retains conformational and dynamic properties at residues two and three which are more similar to those of oxytocin. It is postulated that these conformational and dynamic properties are consistent with the stronger binding and, hence, greater antagonist activity for this penicillamine analogue relative to [1-penicillamine]oxytocin.
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PMID:Conformational study of the potent peptide hormone antagonist [1-penicillamine,2-leucine]oxytocin in aqueous solution. 724 50

Earlier studies have shown the formation of a novel neural lobe after hypophysectomy, an experimental manipulation that causes transection of neurohypophyseal nerve fibers and removal of pituitary hormones. The mechanisms that underly this regenerative process are poorly understood. The localization and number of peptide-immunoreactive (-IR) fibers in the median eminence were studied in normal rats and in rats at different times of survival after hypophysectomy using indirect immunofluorescence histochemistry. The number of vasopressin (VP)-IR fibers increased in the external layer of the median eminence in 5 d hypophysectomized rats. Oxytocin (OXY)-IR fibers decreased in the internal layer and progressively extended into the external layer. At long survival times (9 and 16 months) both VP- and OXY-IR fibers had a bilayered distribution occupying both the external and internal layers. Double-labeling experiments combining VP and tyrosine hydroxylase antisera as well as OXY and growth hormone-releasing factor antisera showed that injured neurosecretory fibers growing into the external layer displaced fibers from parvocellular cells originally located there. As a result, there was essentially an inversion in the distribution of these fibers within the median eminence. Galanin (GAL)- and cholecystokinin (CCK)-IR fibers exhibited a similar pattern of distribution after the lesion. Thus, after 5 d there was an increase in GAL- and CCK-IR fibers in the internal layer. At 14 and 30 d, the number of GAL- and CCK-IR fibers progressively decreased, but after longer survivals (9 and 16 months) there was a dramatic reappearance. Dynorphin (DYN)-LI showed a dramatic increase at all levels of the median eminence at short survival times after hypophysectomy, followed by a subsequent decrease to a final stage of a few, strongly immunoreactive fibers in the external layer at longer survival times. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)- and peptide histidine-isoleucine (PHI)-IR fibers in hypophysectomized animals had already contacted portal vessels 5 d after hypophysectomy, and from then on progressively increased in numbers. Finally, most of the peptide fibers described above formed dense innervation patterns around the large blood vessels along the lateral borders of the median eminence. The present results show that hypophysectomy induces a wide variety of changes in hypothalamic neurosecretory fibers. Not only is the expression of several peptides in these fibers modified following different survival times, but a reorganization of the distribution of immunoreactive fibers within the median eminence is demonstrated. The hypothesis is raised that regeneration of injured neurosecretory fibers may be dependent on changes in the expression of peptides possessing trophic actions.
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PMID:Reorganization of neural peptidergic systems in the median eminence after hypophysectomy. 752 31

The expression of vgf gene, first isolated as a gene induced by nerve growth factor in PC12 cells, was investigated in neurons of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) by in situ hybridization. In the rat forebrain, the vgf mRNA was found most densely in the SCN. Neurons which express vgf mRNA were found both in the dorsomedial and ventrolateral subdivisions. Soluble-labeling of vgf in situ hybridization and peptide immunocytochemistry demonstrated that vgf mRNA was expressed in most vasopressin- and neurophysin-immunoreactive neurons in the dorsomedial part and in vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)- and peptide histidine isoleucine amide (PHI)-immunoreactive neurons in the ventrolateral part. These findings suggest that vgf is a highly expressed gene in both vasopressin/neurophysin neurons and VIP/PHI neurons which were speculated to be involved in the generation and entrainment of circadian rhythm.
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PMID:In situ hybridization histochemistry of vgf mRNA in the rat suprachiasmatic nucleus: co-localization with vasopressin/neurophysin and VIP/PHI. 771 6

The expression of vgf gene, first isolated as a gene induced by nerve growth factor in PC12 cells, was investigated in neurons of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) by in situ hybridization. In the rat forebrain, the vgf mRNA was found most densely in the SCN. Neurons which express vgf mRNA were found both in the dorsomedial and ventrolateral subdivisions. Double-labeling of vgf in situ hybridization and peptide immunocytochemistry demonstrated that vgf mRNA was expressed in most vasopressin- and neurophysin-immunoreactive neurons in the dorsomedial part and in vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)- and peptide histidine isoleucine amide (PHI)-immunoreactive neurons in the ventrolateral part. These findings suggest that vgf is a highly expressed gene in both vasopressin/neurophysin neurons and VIP/PHI neurons which were speculated to be involved in the generation and entrainment of circadian rhythm.
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PMID:In situ hybridization histochemistry of vghm1f mRNA in the rat suprachiasmatic nucleus: co-localization with vasopressin/neurophysin and VIP/PHI. 760 15

In contrast to most vertebrate species that possess one oxytocin-like hormone and one vasopressin-like hormone, a few groups, such as marsupials or cartilaginous fishes, are endowed with two peptides of either or both types, suggesting possible gene duplications. We have now isolated two oxytocin-like hormones from the pituitary of the spotted dogfish Scyliorhinus caniculus (suborder Galeoidei). Microsequencing as well as chromatographic and pharmacological comparisons with synthetic peptides show that these peptides are [Asn4,Val8]oxytocin (asvatocin) and [Phe3,Asn4,Val8]-oxytocin (phasvatocin). Asvatocin and phasvatocin display oxytocic activity on rat uterus, about 80 and 5 milliunits per nmol, respectively, and virtually no pressor activity on anesthetized rats. They occur in roughly equal molar amounts in the gland; vasotocin is also present in a proportional amount that is lower by about a factor of 20. In addition to the duality, conservative amino acid substitutions are observed in the two oxytocic peptides in positions 4 (Gln-4-->Asn) and 8 (Leu-8-->Val), when compared with oxytocin. Furthermore, replacement of the isoleucine residue found in position 3 of all other oxytocin-like hormones by phenylalanine in phasvatocin is exceptional; it determines a dramatic decrease of the oxytocic activity. Preservation of the C-terminal-amidated nonapeptide pattern in the 12 vertebrate neurohypophysial hormones known to date suggests that both precursors and processing enzymes have coevolved tightly. On the other hand, whereas the great evolutionary stability of the mature hormones (generally observed in vertebrates) suggests a strict messenger-receptor coevolution, the exceptional diversity found in cartilaginous fishes (six oxytocin-like peptides identified out of eight known) might be due to a looseness of selective constraints, perhaps in relationship with their specific urea osmoregulation.
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PMID:Special evolution of neurohypophysial hormones in cartilaginous fishes: asvatocin and phasvatocin, two oxytocin-like peptides isolated from the spotted dogfish (Scyliorhinus caniculus). 797 45


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